The US Federal Reserve held a key interest rate steady today in an effort to nurse the economy back to health without further exacerbating inflation.
The decision by the US central bank leaves the benchmark federal funds rate target at a low 2 per cent, where it has been since April.
The decision had been widely expected by financial markets.
The Fed had reduced rates by a cumulative 3.25 percentage points since mid-September in response to a sharp housing retrenchment and turmoil in credit markets.
The Fed is caught between what many economists believe is a recession and rising inflation pressures, triggered by this year's huge hike in energy prices.
The Fed's decision means that commercial banks' prime lending rate, the benchmark for millions of consumer and business loans, will remain unchanged at 5 per cent, its lowest level since late 2004.