Fed: firm rates between 1.5% and 1.75%

The Fed leaves interest rates unchanged at its first meeting of the year. The cost of money in the US remains stuck in a fork between 1.5% and 1.75%. In 2019, the Fed cut rates three times, with reductions every time from a quarter of a point, after four hikes in 2018. The final statement of the US central bank meeting reads how current monetary policy is "appropriate". However, the Fed continues to observe global developments, from Brexit to the emergence of the virus from China.