Zinger Key Points
- The Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate steady Wednesday at 4.25% to 4.5%.
- Benzinga readers share whether they think this was the right move after three straight cuts.
- Get Wall Street's Hottest Chart Every Morning
A new Benzinga reader poll asks whether the Federal Reserve made the right call by keeping interest rates steady Wednesday, or if further cuts were needed.
What Happened: After cutting rates three straight times to end 2024, the Fed kept the federal funds rate steady in January at 4.25% to 4.5%.
The decision to keep rates steady came after the Fed cut the federal funds rate by 100 basis points in 2024.
With the Federal Reserve's decision to keep rates steady, economists now predict that the first rate cut will not come until June or later, with a 30% chance in March, a 45% chance in June, and a 28% chance in September.
Benzinga asked readers if they thought the Fed's decision was correct.
"Do you agree with the Fed's January decision to hold interest rates steady?" Benzinga asked.
Here are the results:
- Yes, it's the right move: 72%
- No, they should have cut rates: 22%
- No, they should have raised rates: 5%
The majority of readers believe the Fed's decision was the right one, with 72% saying yes. Around one-fourth of readers believe the Fed should have cut rates.
Why It's Important: The Fed's statement said that "economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace" and said inflation was moving closer to the 2% target. While the Fed talked positively about inflation progress, they noted that the metric "remains somewhat elevated," which was less positive than comments at the December meeting.
"The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance," the FOMC statement said.
The Fed said they would assess data, the outlook and balance risks when making future decisions on interest rates.
President Donald Trump has been calling for more rate cuts and spoke out after the Fed's decision Wednesday.
"The Fed has done a terrible job on Bank Regulation," Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
The president promised that his administration would "unleash lending for all American people and businesses."
Trump previously said he wanted to get rid of Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, a move he is not allowed to do until the Fed Chairman's turn is up.
On Wednesday, Powell sidestepped a question about the president's criticism of the Fed's past decisions.
Powell declined to weigh in on the president’s remarks, saying Wednesday, “It’s not appropriate for me to comment on what the president said.”
Powell said the Fed would not rush to adjust rates.
SPY Price Action: The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY, which tracks the S&P 500, ended Wednesday down 0.4% to $601.81. The ETF has since rebounded and traded at $608.61 on Friday. The ETF is up 4.1% year-to-date and up 26.1% over the last year.
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The study was conducted by Benzinga from Jan. 29, 2025 through Jan. 30, 2025. It included the responses of a diverse population of adults 18 or older. Opting into the survey was completely voluntary, with no incentives offered to potential respondents. The study reflects results from 116 adults.
Image created using artificial intelligence via Midjourney.
© 2025 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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