U.S. Fed holds rates steady in 10-2 vote; calls for a hike persist

【Financial News, New York — Lee Byung-chul, Correspondent】 The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) held its benchmark interest rate steady, but two members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) voted against the decision, calling for a rate hike. With inflation proving stubborn and the U.S. economy continuing to grow strongly, differences have emerged within the Fed over the need for further tightening.
The Fed held its regular FOMC meeting on the 28th (local time) and decided to keep its benchmark interest rate target range at 3.75%-4.00% per year. This was its first pause since raising rates by 0.25 percentage point in September. Markets had expected the hold.
Of the 12 voting members, 10 supported holding rates steady. But Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, voted against the decision, calling for a 0.25-percentage-point hike.
Cook's dissent is particularly notable. This is the first time Cook, who joined the Fed in 2022 after being nominated by former President Joe Biden, has opposed an FOMC decision. President Donald Trump is also seeking to remove Cook over allegations related to mortgage loan applications.
The Fed is divided between calls for further rate hikes to stabilize prices and a more cautious view that it should wait for additional economic data. In a statement that day, the Fed said, “Inflation remains elevated,” and added, “Based on additional information, we will determine the appropriate policy stance to return inflation to our 2% target.”
The Fed also upgraded its assessment of the U.S. economy. It said economic activity was “expanding at a strong pace.” This was a more positive assessment than the word “solid” in its September statement.



[email protected] Lee Byung-chul, Correspondent Reporter