U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell attends a press conference in Washington, D.C., the United States, on March 20, 2024. [Photo/Xinhua]

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged at a 22-year high of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent as recent consumer data indicates continued inflation pressures.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed's policy-setting body, reiterated in a statement that it does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range "until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent."

"Inflation has eased notably over the past year but remains above our longer-run goal of 2 percent," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference Wednesday afternoon. "The ongoing progress in bringing it down is unsure and the path forward is unsure."

Recent consumer inflation data hasn't raised anyone's confidence, Powell told reporters. "We've got nine months of 2.5 percent inflation now. We've had two months of bumpy inflation. It's going to be a bumpy ride."

U.S. Consumer Price Index (CPI) in February sped up to 3.2 percent from a year ago, after slowing to 3.1 percent from a year ago in January, indicating continued inflation pressures, the Labor Department's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported last week.

According to the Fed's latest quarterly summary of economic projections released Wednesday, Fed officials' median projection for the appropriate level of the federal funds rate will be 4.6 percent at the end of this year, 3.9 percent at the end of 2025, and 3.1 percent at the end of 2026 - still above the Fed's long-term inflation goal.

The latest median federal funds rate projections for 2025 and 2026 are up from the 3.6 percent and 2.9 percent respectively made in December.

The quarterly economic projections also showed that Fed officials revised up the median projection of core personal consumption expenditures (PCE) inflation to 2.6 percent, up from 2.4 percent projected in December.

The Fed chief noted that his colleagues and he are acutely aware that high inflation imposes "significant hardship" as it erodes purchasing power, especially for those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials like food, housing, and transportation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, inflation surged and year-on-year CPI peaked at 9.1 percent in June 2022, the highest in four decades. Despite rate hikes by the central bank to cool inflation, the impact of higher prices continue to dismay Americans, which represent a persistent economic challenge for the Joe Biden administration.

A January Gallup poll showed that 63 percent of U.S. adults say recent price increases have caused financial hardship for their family. This includes 17 percent who say it is a severe hardship affecting their ability to maintain their standard of living and 46 percent who report it is a moderate hardship but does not jeopardize their standard of living.

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