The Federal Reserve did not reduce interest rates following the Federal Open Market Committee’s July 31 meeting.

The Fed issued its FOMC statement reporting that it was holding the target rate between 5.25% and 5.5%.

Chairman Jerome Powell, in his press conference July 31, offered his thoughts on the current economic situation.

“The overall sense of the committee, as I mentioned, is that we’re getting closer to the point at which it will be appropriate to begin to dial back restriction, but we’re not quite at that point yet,” Powell said.

However, he did hint that a September rate cut may be on the table.

The FMOC statement read, in part, “Recent indicators suggest that economic activity has continued to expand at a solid pace. Job gains have moderated, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low. Inflation has eased over the past year but remains somewhat elevated. In recent months, there has been some further progress toward the committee’s 2% inflation objective.

“The committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2 percent over the longer run. The committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals continue to move into better balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate.”