The Federal Reserve will announce in the afternoon what it will do with the federal funds rate, which controls how much banks charge for overnight loans.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak at 2:30 p.m. ET. Watch in the player above.

Such moves filter through the economy to all kinds of other loans, and traders widely expect the Fed to hold the federal funds rate steady. If they’re correct, it would be the first time the Fed has done so since it began lowering rates in September to give the economy a boost.

After the Fed announces its decision, Chair Jerome Powell will also speak with reporters, where he could give hints about whether the central bank is envisioning more cuts to rates this year. In December, the Fed helped send U.S. stocks to one of their worst days of 2024 after indicating it envisions cutting the fed funds rate just twice in 2025, down from an earlier projection of four times.

Lower rates can goose the economy by making borrowing cheaper, which would raise corporate profits. They can also boost prices for investments, but the downside is they could provide more fuel for inflation. And worries have been climbing that inflation may be difficult to fully subdue to the Fed’s 2% target, particularly with uncertainty about tariffs and other policies potentially coming from President Donald Trump.

Treasury yields held relatively steady in the bond market ahead of the Fed’s decision. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 4.52% from 4.53% late Tuesday.