No change in interest rates is expected when the Federal Open Market Committee is scheduled to set rates again on March 19.

Officials are debating when to restart interest rate cuts, as high prices linger and Trump’s policies add to economic uncertainty.

President Trump is plowing ahead with his tariff plans and threats, while still pushing for a cut to interest rates.

Federal Reserve officials at a meeting last month pointed to rising risks that inflation could worsen, a key reason they kept their benchmark interest rate unchanged

Participants at the U.S. central bank's January 28-29 meeting "generally pointed to the upside risks to the inflation outlook," rather than risks to job market, according to the minutes from the meeting,

Federal Reserve policymakers noted the potential for higher tariffs to contribute to inflation remaining above the central bank's 2% target rate in the minutes from their last meeting.

The decision last month to leave the benchmark federal-funds rate at its current level around 4.3% followed rate cuts at three consecutive meetings—beginning in September, when

Federal Reserve officials in January agreed they would need to see inflation come down more before lowering interest rates further, and expressed concern about the impact President Donald Trump’s tariffs would have in making that happen,