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Federal Reserve leaves interest rates unchanged despite rising inflation

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Cite

Cheung, B. (2026, October 28). Federal Reserve leaves interest rates unchanged despite rising inflation. NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/fed-rates-inflation-warsh-midterms-rcna606154

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NBC News · collected 2026-10-28 · by Brian Cheung

Quick Summary

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged despite inflation rising from 3.4% in August to 3.7% in September. The decision came amid soaring fuel costs and consumer concerns about rising prices, particularly in housing and energy sectors. Two officials dissented, advocating for a rate hike due to inflationary pressures, while the Fed stated it needs more data before making further decisions on interest rates.
Written by AI on 2026-10-29, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

On October 28, 2026, the Federal Reserve decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 3.75%-4%, despite elevated inflation and a looming midterm election. This decision was widely expected by markets and reflects the central bank's cautious approach amid conflicting economic data points, including bottoming-out consumer sentiment and rising bond yields. The Fed had raised rates for the first time in three years last month due to inflation pressures caused by the Iran war, which has led to spikes in oil and gas prices. President Donald Trump criticized the Fed's rate hikes, demanding they lower interest rates quickly. The decision was made a week before the midterm elections where control of both the House and Senate were on the line. Voters blamed rising prices primarily on the Iran war and global tariffs imposed by the Trump administration.

Written for “Fed Holds Rates Steady Despite Inflation” on 2026-11-02, grounded in this article and the 22 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Fed Holds Rates Steady Despite Inflation
Economy/Business · 23 article(s) covering the same event. Compare every outlet's account →

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How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
19
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 19 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans left
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
Publisher signals
60/100
NBC News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
23
Economy/Business
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-29 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

NBC News · 1985 article(s) · 1 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 1 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Brian Cheung
3 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee’s 2 percent goal,” it said.
🔮 Now, the Trump administration may be running out of moves.
🔮 Previous Fed chairs have used the annual Jackson Hole address to deliver major policy announcements, and Warsh said last month that he would use the occasion to “frame the big questions” facing the Fed.
Also by Brian Cheung
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.

Topics

Cleveland Fed Committee Fed Iran The Federal Reserve

Subjects

Fed ORG · 3× Committee ORG · 2× Donald Trump PERSON · 2× Iran GPE · 2× Beth Hammack PERSON · 1× Cleveland Fed ORG · 1× Cook PERSON · 1× Lisa Cook PERSON · 1× NBC News ORG · 1× The Federal Reserve ORG · 1×

Narrative

The decision to hold rates steady came despite rising inflation that jumped from 3.4% in August to 3.7% in September. A major driver of that inflation is the soaring cost of gas, diesel and crude oil.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-29
🔮 The accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee’s 2 percent goal,” it said.

Claims (19 extracted, 1 hedged)

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to keep interest rates unchanged, its final monetary policy decision before the midterm elections. asserted
Reserve → vote → elections
The decision to hold rates steady came despite rising inflation that jumped from 3.4% in August to 3.7% in September. A major driver of that inflation is the soaring cost of gas, diesel and crude oil. asserted
driver → hold → gas
These higher prices have hit consumers hard and many economists say the spillover effect of rising gas prices has started to show up across the broader economy. asserted
effect → hit → economy
In its post-decision statement, the Fed acknowledged the problem that inflation is causing but said it needs more data before moving forward with a rate hike. asserted
it → acknowledge → hike
“Inflation remains elevated. asserted
Inflation → remain → ?
The accumulation of more information will help the Committee determine the policy stance appropriate to ensure a timely return of inflation to the Committee’s 2 percent goal,” it said. asserted
it → help → goal
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, PCE, will not be released until Thursday, but it is expected to touch 3.7%. asserted
it → release → %
Wednesday’s vote was not unanimous, unlike September’s 12 to 0 vote to hike rates, the first time since 2023 that the central bank had raised its benchmark rate. asserted
bank → hike → rate
Two officials, governor Lisa Cook and Cleveland Fed president Beth Hammack dissented in favor of a rate hike. asserted
officials → dissent → hike
The dissent by Cook, whom President Donald Trump is attempting to fire, was her first ever. asserted
Trump → attempt → whom
An interest rate hike could have added slightly more pressure to already beleaguered consumers. uncertain
hike → add → consumers
Voters have consistently told pollsters that rising prices, especially in the housing and energy sectors, are their primary concerns as they cast their ballots. asserted
they → tell → ballots
The most recent NBC News poll found President Donald Trump’s approval rating at 27% for his handling of the cost of living and just 29% for his handling of the war with Iran. asserted
poll → find → Iran
Two-thirds of Americans said the soaring gas prices triggered by Trump’s Iran war were either a “very serious” or a “somewhat serious” problem. asserted
prices → say → war
More than half of respondents said current economic conditions had caused them to change what kinds of groceries they buy. asserted
they → say → groceries
The central bank also acknowledged the economic anxiety gripping much of the country. asserted
bank → acknowledge → country
“Economic activity is expanding at a strong pace,” said the rate-setting FOMC. asserted
FOMC → expand → pace
“While uncertainty remains elevated owing, in part, to geopolitical developments, domestic spending has been resilient.” asserted
spending → remain → developments
Wednesday’s announcement and the Fed’s acknowledgement that inflation remains well above its goal set the stage for a rate increase during December’s monetary policy meeting. asserted
inflation → remain → meeting
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