Fed skips September rate hike, doesn’t rule out November rise

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday engineered a hawkish pause, holding interest rates steady while indicating a majority of officials continue to expect one more quarter-point interest rate hike before the end of the year.

At the same time, the Fed sent a clear message that interest rate policy was expected to be “higher for longer” by cutting their forecast for rate cuts in 2024 from four to two. As a result, officials see their benchmark rate rate still slightly above 5% by the end of next year.

After…