Fed keeps rates unchanged and signals optimism about a potential ‘soft landing’

BY CHRISTOPHER RUGABER

The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday for the second time in its past three meetings, a sign that it’s moderating its fight against inflation as price pressures have eased.

The Fed’s policymakers also signaled that they expect to raise rates once more this year and envision their key rate staying higher in 2024 than most analysts had expected.

But as their latest policy meeting ended, the 19 members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee conveyed growing optimism that they will manage to slow inflation to their 2% target without causing the deep recession that many economists had feared. It’s a hopeful scenario that economists call a “soft landing.”

In a set of new quarterly projections, the policymakers showed that they expect faster economic growth and lower unemployment this year and next year than they had foreseen just three months ago. Even with solid growth