Reaction: The Rates Remain The Same

As expected the Federal Reserve held interest rates steady for the 5th consecutive meeting.

"The committee does not expect that it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%" said Federal Reserve Chair, Jerome Powell, "We will continue to make our decisions, meeting by meeting."

The move was not a surprise to most analysts.

"Interest rates took the elevator going up, but they're going to take the stairs coming down" said Bankrate Chief financial analyst, Greg McBride, "Yes, the Fed is going to cut interest rates this year, but it's probably not going to start until the 2nd quarter. I would say probably in May or June."

Which means, we will not see a rate cut in March, that many on Wall Street are hoping for.

"I think the Fed's thrown a little bit of cold water on that" McBride told KTRH, "Lower rates are coming, but we're not quite there yet. The Fed wants to see further improvement on inflation, and have a greater level of confidence that we're making our way towards the 2% mark before they begin the cycle of cutting rates."

The next Federal Reserve will be in March.