Fed holds rates steady days before the midterms, even as inflation runs hot

The Federal Reserve left interest rates alone on Wednesday, six days before the midterm elections, even as inflation edges back toward the three-year high it hit in May.

The Federal Open Market Committee voted 10-2 to keep its benchmark rate in a range of 3.75% to 4%. Only Fed Governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed President Beth Hammack dissented. In a statement from the Fed, the two “preferred to raise the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/4 percentage point at this meeting.”

While Hammack’s vote was expected, Cook’s was not, since........

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