​​​​​​​The US Federal Reserve has held its benchmark federal funds rate unchanged between the 4.25 percent to 4.50 percent target range, as widely expected.

"Although swings in net exports continue to affect the data, recent indicators suggest that growth of economic activity moderated in the first half of the year," the Fed said in a statement on Wednesday.

It said the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent in the longer run.

"The unemployment rate remains low, and labour market conditions remain solid. Inflation remains somewhat elevated,” it noted.

The Fed said in considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the policy, the FOMC will "carefully" assess incoming data, the evolving outlook, and the balance of risks.

"The Committee will continue reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage‑backed securities," it added.

The decision came after the uncertainty caused by US President Donald Trump's global tariffs and his repeated criticisms of Fed Chair Jerome Powell, accusing him of failing to act swiftly as economic risks mount.

Trump criticism

Trump has repeatedly demanded that the Fed cut interest rates, citing moves by the European central banks, and warned that delays could stall the US economy.

The decision also followed the Trump administration's criticism of a renovation project of the Fed's buildings at its headquarters in Washington.

During the president's visit last Thursday to the buildings that are being renovated, he said the project “would have been much better if it had never started” and compared it unfavourably to one of his own developments.

“With all of that being said, let’s just get it finished and, even more importantly, lower interest rates!” he said.

In a separate development, Trump was reportedly looking to fire Powell, but he later denied those reports, saying it is "highly unlikely" that he will fire the Fed chair, but left the door open to taking action against the central bank head for "possible" fraud.

The central bank kept the rate at the historically high level of 5.5 percent from July 2023 to September 2024 before gradually lowering it to 4.5 percent.

Despite political pressure, the Fed has kept the rate unchanged in the last five meetings.