Fed holds rates at 3.75 to 4 percent, two officials vote for another hike

The Federal Open Market Committee kept the federal funds target range at 3.75 to 4 percent at its meeting ending on 28 October 2026. The vote was 10 to 2: Lisa Cook and Beth Hammack dissented, both preferring a further quarter-point increase. The pause follows a unanimous hike in September that lifted the range to its current level.

The statement describes economic activity as expanding at a strong pace, with solid productivity growth and business investment. Job gains have kept up with the growth of the labour force and unemployment has barely moved. Inflation is still described as elevated, and the Committee says it will use incoming data to judge how restrictive policy needs to be to bring inflation back to its 2 percent goal.