The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it is keeping its benchmark lending rates at their current levels for the seventh time in a row, while signaling fewer rate cuts than previously estimated.

That means borrowing costs on everything from car loans to mortgages will remain elevated.

Officials penciled in just one rate cut this year, according to their latest economic projections, compared to the three they forecast in March. They also expect inflation to be more stubborn this year than they thought in the spring, according to their forecasts.

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday held interest rates steady for the seventh straight time and scaled back the outlook for rate reductions later this year as high inflation lingers.

New quarterly economic projections laid out after the meeting show that a majority of Fed officials who participated expect rates to fall to just 5.1% by the end of 2024, suggesting there will only be one quarter-point rate cut this year – a sharp reversal from the three they had predicted in March. 

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its key interest rate unchanged and signaled that just one cut is expected before the end of the year.

With markets hoping for a more accommodative central bank, Federal Open Market Committee policymakers following their two-day meeting took two rate reductions off the table from the three indicated in March. The committee also signaled that it believes the long-run interest rate is higher than previously indicated.