The Federal Reserve is meeting for the next two days and will announce its latest decision on U.S. interest rates Wednesday. Javier David, the business editor at the Dallas Morning News, joins with more.

Washington

The Federal Reserve is concluding a two-day meeting and is widely expected to keep U.S. interest rates steady, according to Javier David, business editor at the Dallas Morning News. Recent economic data has shown gradual cooling of inflation and a relatively stable labor market, offering the central bank little reason to adjust rates at this time. 

Amid the Fed's decision, geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, particularly concerning the Strait of Hormuz, are being closely monitored by financial markets. Disruptions in this critical oil transit route could drive up global oil prices, potentially complicating the Fed's efforts to manage inflation.

Fed expected to hold interest rates steady

Welcome back to CBS News 24-7. It is that time again, but this time, it feels very consequential. The Federal Reserve will make its next interest rate decision very soon. So the Fed kicked off its two-day meeting today, and tomorrow, they are going to announce whether they will leave rates unchanged or make a move. So all eyes on what he's going to do. Now to CBS News business contributor, Javier David. He also is the business editor at the Dallas Morning News there in the Metroplex. Javier, what are you expecting the Fed to do about interest rates? We know President Donald Trump wants them to go down and soon. Well, look, in short, nobody should hold their breath waiting for a rate cut or even expecting the Fed to set the ground for one, unfortunately. The data's been solid, not spectacular, but yet certainly not weak enough to justify more stimulus from the Fed. So we've got a sort of scenario in which inflation is slowly cooling. That's good. The labor market isn't falling out of bed. It's weaker, but that's also not great, but still pretty good. So the central bank figures that it can sort of afford to sit on its hands for a while, and that's not what the president certainly wants to hear, and that's not necessarily what consumers want to hear as they're continuing to pay higher prices, but that's just the reality of it. Yeah, we're all watching social media once that announcement is made. If President Trump doesn't get his way, will he use the words he famously has in recent days and weeks, too late? Okay, shifting gears now, because we were just talking to our correspondents in the Middle East and elsewhere. We know that Iran knows that one of the cards that they have to play in the fight between Israel and Iran is the Strait of Hormuz. If Iran cuts that off, that is a huge economic blow that could have huge repercussions, especially in the oil and gas markets. Talk to me about what people are saying in the financial world about that today. Yeah, look, the Strait of Hormuz is a critical artery. It's about a fifth of global supply gets transported through that particular juncture. So if, in fact, we find ourselves in a situation in which Iran sort of ups the ante by jamming up supply or movement in that area, Goldman Sachs estimates that we can easily see $100 per barrel in short order. The Israel-Iran conflict, as foreign wars often are, it's a real complexifier for the global economy, but this one is especially tricky for this one thing in particular, which is oil. And the running joke that I have is like, when real estate, you say location, location, location, but whenever you're talking about energy prices and the economy, it's inflation, inflation, inflation. And this is very inflationary. Oil is used as a component in all sorts of activity that we kind of take for granted. It produces plastics, materials, food. That makes central bankers nervous because when all of these prices start to go up, that makes it that much more difficult to achieve their inflation target. So we're talking about the Fed. This is one thing that they're more than likely going to be paying very close attention to. Javier David, we know you're paying attention with your very fancy new CBS News background, which makes it so I can't check to see who's out to lunch there where you are. Nice to talk to you, my friends. Yes, I clocked that. Have a good day.

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Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

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Jerusalem

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Global Tariffs

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Gilimanuk

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Tecoluca

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Manhattan

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Madrid

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Tehran

Iran Strikes

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Lhasa

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Boise

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Madison

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Everglades

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Moscow

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Bangkok

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