The Federal Reserve holds its benchmark interest rate at 1.25%.

At its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held on September 19-20, 2017, the U.S. Federal Reserve (The Fed) decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate at 1-1.25 percent. This decision followed moderate growth in business investment and the U.S. economy.

This marks the second time the Fed has held interest rates steady following the FOMC meeting in June 2017. Low inflation, below the target rate, also contributed to the decision not to raise interest rates. However, The Fed still left room for a Fed Funds rate increase by the end of the year. Previously, the U.S. monetary authority had raised interest rates twice this year, in March and June.

During the meeting, the Federal Reserve Board also decided to begin reducing its holdings of bonds acquired during the 2008 financial crisis, totaling US$4.2 trillion, starting in October 2017. The reduction will begin at US$10 billion and increase by US$10 billion every three months, up to a maximum of US$50 billion.