After days of decline, the U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) decided to keep interest rates unchanged

Despite the unpredictable moves stemming from Trump's policies and the president's call for tariff reductions, the Federal Reserve announced in its latest meeting that it would maintain interest rates.

The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) has decided to keep interest rates unchanged for the second consecutive time, after days of decline. This decision comes as no surprise, following the president’s calls to reduce tariffs and the unpredictable moves stemming from Trump’s policies.

Despite the unpredictable moves stemming from Trump’s policies and the president’s call for tariff reductions, the Federal Reserve announced in its latest meeting that it would maintain interest rates.

According to a statement early on March 20, the U.S. Federal Reserve (FED) announced that the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) had decided to keep the federal funds rate at 4.25-4.5%. This means the interest rate remained unchanged at the December 2024 and January 2025 meetings.

Jerome Powell affirmed that the U.S. economy continues to grow at a steady pace, with the unemployment rate dropping to its lowest level in months. However, inflation has yet to return to the Fed’s target level, which remains the primary reason FED has not resumed interest rate cuts.

The rate decision came weeks after Trump started a global trade war, causing stock prices to drop and raising fears of a possible recession. On the social media platform Truth Social today, Trump called for the FED and Powell to cut off the interest rate and control inflation. He also emphasized that he wanted lower interest rates to support his economic policies, such as boosting energy production and improving trade.

However, the FED has maintained its independent stance, with Powell stressing that interest-rate decisions will be based on economic data rather than political pressure.

This decision follows a period of rapid rate hikes by the Fed to combat high inflation, which reached a 40-year peak in 2024.

In addition to this rate decision, the Fed also reaffirmed its forecast of two 0.25% rate cuts in 2025, focusing on the second half of the year.

The Fed’s position reflects the uncertainty felt by Wall Street, traditional financial markets, and the crypto market since Trump took office and implemented several policies that went against widespread expectations. After the Fed’s announcement, major U.S. stock indexes saw slight gains, partially recovering the losses recorded in February and March.

Similarly, Bitcoin experienced a mild rebound from the $84,000 range to $87,400—the highest price since March 8—leading to a broad uptrend across the crypto market.

Top coins such as XRP and ETH also saw significant gains today, with XRP surging nearly 15% in the past 24 hours, reflecting growing investor optimism.