Federal Reserve pauses rate rise campaign but signals more to come

The Federal Reserve held its benchmark interest rate steady for the first time in more than a year following 10 consecutive increases but signalled its intention to implement further rises this year.

At the end of its two-day gathering on Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to forgo another quarter-point rate increase and kept the federal funds rate at the existing target range of between 5 per cent and 5.25 per cent.