The Federal Reserve is nearly certain to keep its key interest rate unchanged at its policy meeting this week, just a few days after President Donald Trump said he would soon demand lower rates.

The Federal Reserve defied President Donald Trump 's calls for interest rate cuts and kept a key lending rate steady on Wednesday. Fed Chairman Jerson Powell and the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee voted to keep its key lending rate between 4.25 and 4.50 percent.

The Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged Wednesday, amid a cloudy economic outlook and concerns that some of President Donald Trump’s policies could stymie the fight against inflation. Wednesday’s pause comes after the central bank cut interest rates by a full percentage point between September and December of last year.