Summary
The Federal Reserve decided to keep its influential benchmark rate unchanged, while hinting at a rate increase later this year
The content on this page is accurate as of the posting date; however, some of our partner offers may have expired. Please review our list of best credit cards, or use our CardMatch™ tool to find cards matched to your needs.
Your credit cards journey is officially underway.
Keep an eye on your inbox—we’ll be sending over your first message soon.
The Federal Open Market Committee said Wednesday that the economy still needs support from its existing low rates, but it left the door open to a hike later on.
“The Committee currently expects that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, economic activity will expand at a moderate pace and labor market indicators will continue to strengthen,” the April statement said.
In its official statement issued at the end of its two-day meeting Wednesday, the committee dropped a sentence about the risks of global and financial developments, which had appeared in its previous policy announcement in March.
The committee’s next meeting is June 14 and 15.
The committee sets a fundamental price tag on money. Changes in its benchmark federal funds rate are quickly reflected in banks’ prime rate. And when the prime rate goes up, so do APRs that consumers pay on variable rate credit cards. Almost all general purpose cards have adopted variable rates, which allow them to raise rates on existing balances when market rates increase.
The FOMC set its current federal funds target range – 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent – in December 2015, an increase of one quarter of 1 percentage point. In addition to boosting APRs on credit cards, the hike may have contributed to a sell-off in the stock market, which lost about 10 percent of its value by mid-February.
Since then, however, stocks have stabilized, and economic fundamentals are showing resilience. As a result, analysts expect the Fed to add another quarter-point to the federal funds rate as early as June, in order to move rates closer to long-term norms. In a fully healthy economy, the rate should eventually reach about 4 percent, Fed projections say.
Previous FOMC coverage:Cardholders spared APR increase
Editorial Disclaimer
The editorial content on this page is based solely on the objective assessment of our writers and is not driven by advertising dollars. It has not been provided or commissioned by the credit card issuers. However, we may receive compensation when you click on links to products from our partners.