When the Fed reduces its rate, it often — though not always — leads to lower costs for consumer and business borrowing, including for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards. Yet financial markets also influence the level of longer-term rates and can keep them elevated even if the Fed reduces the shorter-term rate it controls.

The central bank is waiting for clearer economic data amid uncertainty over President Donald Trump’s trade war and other policies.

Four meetings and six months have elapsed since the Fed last adjusted interest rates. The federal funds rate stands between 4.25% and 4.5%, preserving much of a sharp increase imp