The Federal Reserve has decided to maintain its benchmark interest rate steady at 5.25% to 5.5%, marking the sixth consecutive meeting without a change, and keeping interest rates at a 23-year high. This decision comes as high inflation persists, with the Fed indicating that rates will remain on hold until inflation further cools and shows significant progress towards the Fed's 2% target. Fed Chair Jerome Powell highlighted the ongoing challenges in managing inflation and indicated that the Fed would need more evidence of inflation cooling before considering rate cuts. Additionally, the Fed announced a reduction in the pace of its balance sheet runoff, lowering the monthly cap on Treasury securities from $60 billion to $25 billion starting in June.