The Federal Open Market Committee held
"Inflation is still too high, ongoing progress in bringing it down is not assured, and the path forward is uncertain," said Fed Chairman Jerome Powell in a press conference.
The chairman cited personal consumption expenditure data rising 2.5% in the past 12 months from February, a statistic excluding volatile food and energy prices.
Experts anticipated the Fed's hold Wednesday, after Powell's comments in January dampened expectations of a March cut. The majority of Fed officials still project three rate cuts this year, according to the
The Fed's benchmark interest rate has now sat between 5.25% and 5.5%
"This is an election year, and if the Fed is going to begin a campaign of rate cuts, it will have to happen on or before the July meeting," wrote Cohn in a statement. "Time is running out," she says."
Wednesday's news means mortgage rates won't fall far enough to drive meaningful origination volume gains this year, said Eric Orenstein, senior director at Fitch Ratings.
"Eventually, mortgage loan volumes should normalize with lower rates, though there are likely several more challenging quarters ahead for mortgage companies," wrote Orenstein in a note immediately following the FOMC announcement.
The Mortgage Bankers Association said it's forecasting the Fed's first rate cut in June, and for mortgage rates to gradually decline over the year.
Fannie Mae this week
The Fed said it will continue to let its holdings of Treasuries securities, agency debt and mortgage-backed securities run off. Its holdings have declined by almost $1.5 trillion since it began the process; Powell said members didn't commit to a slowdown in quantitative tightening.
