Fed Holds Rates at 3.50% to 3.75% Unanimously at Warsh's First Meeting, Lifts 2026 Rate Projection to 3.8%
The Federal Open Market Committee voted 12-0 on June 17, 2026, to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 3.50 to 3.75 percent, and reaffirmed its policy of maintaining ample reserves in the banking system. It was the first FOMC meeting chaired by Kevin Warsh since he took over as Federal Reserve chair.
In its statement, the Committee said economic activity was expanding at a solid pace despite elevated uncertainty owing in part to the conflict in the Middle East, that productivity growth and capital investment were strong, and that job gains had kept pace with the workforce while the unemployment rate had changed little. Inflation, it said, remained elevated relative to its 2 percent goal, in part reflecting supply shocks including energy, closing with the line: "The Committee will deliver price stability."
The Summary of Economic Projections released the same day put the 2026 medians at 2.2 percent for real GDP growth, 4.3 percent for unemployment, 3.6 percent for PCE inflation and 3.3 percent for core PCE inflation, with the median projection for the federal funds rate at the end of 2026 rising to 3.8 percent, from 3.4 percent in March. Eighteen participants submitted projections. In its implementation note, the Board maintained the interest rate on reserve balances at 3.65 percent and the primary credit rate at 3.75 percent, both effective June 18.
Source: Federal Reserve
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美联储总部 Marriner S. Eccles 大楼（华盛顿特区）。AgnosticPreachersKid 摄，CC BY-SA 3.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Marriner S. Eccles Building, Federal Reserve headquarters in Washington, D.C. Photo by AgnosticPreachersKid, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-06-17Fed Holds Rates at 3.50% to 3.75% Unanimously at Warsh's First Meeting, Lifts 2026 Rate Projection to 3.8%This story
