Fed holds interest rates steady amid Middle East tensions

(The Center Square) – The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and reiterated plans to cut rates later this year, even as rising energy prices from the Iran war threaten to prolong the administration’s efforts to control inflation ahead of the midterm elections. Officials voted 11-1 to hold the benchmark federal funds rate in a range of 3.5% to 3.75%, the second consecutive meeting with no change. The sole dissenting vote came from President Donald Trump's newest FOMC appointee, Stephen Miran. He wanted to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point. "Uncertainty about the economic outlook remains elevated," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement after the decision. "The implications of developments in the Middle East for the U.S. economy are uncertain." The Federal Reserve’s decision comes despite Trump’s efforts to pressure the central bank to lower interest rates in hop