The main bank in the US did not change its main interest rate. It did not do what President Trump wanted, which was to make borrowing money cheaper. The bank also said that it is now more likely that more people will be out of work and that prices will go up. This is a difficult situation for the bank.

The Fed did not change the interest rate for the third meeting in a row. They had lowered it three times at the end of last year. Many experts and investors still think the Fed will lower rates this year. But the new taxes on goods from other countries, started by Trump, make the future of the US economy and the Fed's decisions very unclear.

At a meeting after they shared their plan, the head, Jerome Powell, said the tariffs made people and businesses feel less hopeful, but they haven't really hurt the economy yet. Powell said it's hard to know what the central bank should do about the tariffs right now because things are too unclear.

Powell said that if taxes on imported goods stay high, prices might go up, the economy might grow slower, and more people might lose their jobs. He added that these effects might only last a short time, or they could last longer.

It is not common for the Fed to worry about prices going up and more people losing their jobs at the same time.

When many people lose their jobs and prices go up quickly, it is sometimes called 'stagflation'. This makes the people who manage the banks worried because it is difficult for them to solve both problems at the same time. This happened for a long time in the 1970s because of problems with oil and the economy.

But most economists say Trump's taxes on imports could make prices higher and cause people to lose their jobs. This is because things from other countries will cost more, and companies will have to pay more.

The Fed wants to keep prices steady and help people find jobs. When prices go up a lot, the Fed makes it more expensive to borrow money. This makes people spend less, and prices stop rising so fast. If people lose their jobs, the Fed makes it cheaper to borrow money. This helps people spend more and helps the economy grow.

At the start of the year, people who study money thought the US central bank would lower interest rates a couple of times because prices were not rising as fast. Some experts also said they should lower rates because they expect the economy to grow slower and more people to lose their jobs. But the head of the central bank said clearly that the economy is good now, so they don't need to do anything.

A few months ago, many experts thought the economy would slow down slowly. They believed prices would stop going up too fast, and that many people would still have jobs, with the economy growing well.

But on Wednesday Powell said that would probably not happen.

If these taxes finally happen at those amounts, then we won't move forward with our plans, Powell said.

Powell also said the Fed's next step depends on whether prices go up a lot or if many people lose their jobs.

He said we need to wait and see what happens before we decide if we will lower interest rates or keep them the same.

An expert named Krishna Guha said the Fed will probably cut interest rates later. He said this is because they think the economy is strong and see risks. He also said this means the Fed does not plan to cut rates in June. Many experts think the Fed might wait until September to cut rates.

In April, Trump said he would put high taxes on goods from about 60 countries that the U.S. trades with. But he stopped most of these taxes for 90 days, except for taxes on goods from China. The government has put a very high tax of 145% on goods from China. The U.S. and China will have important talks this weekend in Switzerland. This will be the first time they talk at a high level since Trump started this trade problem.

The central bank's careful actions might cause more problems between the Fed and the Trump government.

When someone asked if Trump's wish for lower interest rates changed the Fed's work, Powell said, "It does not change how we do our job. We only look at facts about the economy, what we think will happen, and possible problems. That is all."

If the Fed lowers interest rates, it might cost less to borrow money for things like houses, cars, and credit cards, but we don't know for sure.

A big problem for the Fed is how import taxes will affect prices. Most experts think these taxes will make prices go up, but they don't know by how much or for how long. Taxes usually make prices go up one time, but not keep going up.

Right now, the U.S. economy is doing well. Prices are not going up as fast as they were in 2022. People are buying a lot, maybe because they want to buy cars before new taxes. Companies are still hiring people, and not many people are looking for jobs.

But there are signs that prices will go up more in the next few months.