Here’s how the central bank’s interest rate stance influences car loans, credit cards, mortgages, savings and student loans.
The Federal Reserve is expected to keep its key rate steady on Wednesday, after a series of cuts that lowered rates by a full percentage point last year.
That means consumers looking to borrow are likely to have to wait a bit longer for better deals on many loans, but savers will benefit from steadier yields on savings accounts.
The central bank is waiting for more clarity on the economic outlook and the impact of President Trump’s policies on tariffs, immigration and widespread federal job cuts. Mr. Trump has publicly attacked the Fed chair, Jerome H. Powell, and his colleagues for keeping borrowing costs too high.
The Fed’s benchmark rate is set at a range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent. In an effort to tamp down inflation, the central bank began lifting rates rapidly — from near zero to above 5 percent — between March 2022 and July 2023. Prices have cooled considerably since then, and the Fed pivoted to rate cuts, lowering rates in September, November and December.
Mr. Trump’s inflation-stoking polices could prompt the Fed to delay more rate cuts. But at the same time, longer-term interest rates set by the markets have been extremely volatile, influencing a wide range of consumer and business borrowing costs.