The Federal Reserve was widely expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, at the conclusion of its March meeting.

At the end of last year, the Fed reduced its key interest rate three times to about 4.3% from 5.3%. The Fed had rapidly raised its rate to combat inflation, and as price growth headed lower, that allowed the central bank to reverse some of those rate hikes. In September, inflation dropped to a 3 1/2 year low of 2.4%.

The Federal Reserve maintained its previously expected pace of rate cuts, but signaled higher inflation and a slowdown in economic growth for 2025.