Key Takeaways The Federal Reserve is widely expected to keep its interest rate flat at Wednesday's policy meeting.Fed officials are reluctant to make any monetary policy moves while they wait to see what President Donald Trump's economic policies will be enacted and how they'll affect the economy.

The Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady through the first half of the year, before delivering two reductions beginning in September, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

Although inflation receded last month, an escalating trade war threatens to cause prices to rise on a wide range of consumer goods going forward.

The Federal Reserve is seen restarting interest-rate cuts in June, traders bet on Tuesday, as government data showed U.S. producer prices were unexpectedly flat last month and weekly jobless claims fell.

The odds of the Federal Reserve implementing at least one quarter-point interest rate cut in early May fell to 30.5% after Wednesday’s consumer price index data arrived. That compares with 37.4% on Tuesday,

The Federal Reserve is still expected to cut interest rates this year — but not until the fall — as policymakers weigh the fallout from President Trump’s tariffs on trade partners, according to a survey released Friday.

American families are growing sharply less optimistic about the economic outlook, but the Federal Reserve may be loathe to respond aggressively to a weakening economy in light of increasing worries that the Trump administration's trade policy will boost already elevated inflation.

Expectations for the next interest-rate reduction are being brought forward after the stock market’s big selloff at the start of the week. Investors had penciled in June as the most likely moment for