Fed holds off on rate hike, suggests it might not pursue further increases

Federal Reserve officials announced Wednesday that they decided not to raise the central bank’s interest-rate target and suggested that they might not raise them further in the months ahead, a sign that the yearslong campaign to reverse crisis-era emergency measures is nearing an end.

The Fed’s monetary policy committee said in a statement following a two-day meeting in Washington that it would leave the target for short-term interest rates at between 2.25 percent and 2.5 percent, where it was set in December.