The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady on Wednesday, just days after President Donald Trump called on the central bank to lower them. The announcement put the central bank on a potential collision course with Trump,

After three successive interest rate cuts, the Federal Reserve on Wednesday made no change in its benchmark lending rate amid new economic uncertainties over the outlook for inflation and President Trump's continued threats of new tariffs and other measures.

The central bank’s decision to pause at its first meeting of 2025 followed a series of cuts that began in September to account for progress already made on getting inflation down. Over the course of three meetings, the Fed lowered rates by a full percentage point to a range of 4.25 percent to 4.5 percent, which was maintained on Wednesday.