If you’re waiting for interest rates on mortgages, car loans, credit cards, and other kinds of credit to fall significantly, don’t hold your breath.

On Wednesday, officials at the Federal Reserve in charge of the nation’s monetary policy increased their estimate for how long they’ll squeeze inflation—and the economy—by keeping the central bank’s benchmark interest rate high. While Fed officials 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:declinedಌ to ▨raise the influential fed funds rate any further than its current 22-year high, they signaled that they’ll keep the rate higher for longer than the last time they made forecasts in June.

The median forecast among the members of the 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:Federal Open Market Committee put the fed funds rate at a range of 5 to 5.25% by the end of 2024, just a quarter-point lower than it is now. In June, officials saw the rate falling to a range of 4.50% to 4.75%, as they saw the economy, and inflation, s🅷taying hotter than they had previously forecast.

What Does That Mean For You?

That means higher interest rates on consumer loans, but also higher returns on savings accounts—savers can now get 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:rates close to 6% on certificates of deposit, unheard of in recent years.

"For consumers, that means no relief in loan rates until later next year, but on the flip side, there’s the opportunity to lock in high rates through certificates of deposit, or treasury bills and notes,” Robert Frick, corporate economist with Navy Federal Credit Union, said in a statement. “When you lock in rates around 5%, you’re beating inflation and that premium will only increase if inflation falls next year, as it’s expected to do."

FOMC members also maintained their forecast for one more rate hike before the end of the year, which would be the 12th since March 2022, when the Fed began its campaign to subdue rampant inflation down to its goal of a 2% annual rate. Since then, inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index has fallen to a 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:3.7% annual rate from its pe♔ak of 9.1% in June 2022.

The Fed’s changing outlook reflects recent data on jobs, 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:consumer spending and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:economic  growth that has showed the economy has 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:held up surprisingly well as the Fed has tried to slow it down to cool inflation.

“Economic activity has been stronger than we expected, stronger than I think everyone expected,” Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference following the release of the Fed's interest rate decision. “And so what you're seeing is what people believe as of now will be appropriate to achieve what we're looking to achieve, which is progress toward our inflation goal.”