The Federal Reserve may skip rate hike this week. What that means for you

The Federal Reserve is likely to skip an interest rate hike when it meets this week, experts predict. But consumers may not feel any relief.

The central bank has already raised interest rates 11 times since last year — the fastest pace of tightening since the early 1980s.

Yet recent data is still painting a mixed picture of where the economy stands. Overall growth is holding steady as consumers continue to spend, but the labor market is beginning to loosen from historically tight conditions.

At the same time, inflation has shown some signs of cooling even though it remains well above the Fed’s 2% target.

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