美联储周三将设定利率
作者：阿曼达·马西亚斯（Amanda Macias）
福克斯新闻（Fox News）
发布时间：2026年3月18日 美国东部时间上午9:12
提到美国人能够负担得起什么，没有哪个机构的影响比美联储更大。
这一点在美联储周三结束为期两天的联邦公开市场委员会（FOMC）会议时体现得尤为明显——这次闭门会议是政策制定者决定利率是否将维持高位或开始下调的关键时刻。
外界普遍预期美联储将把其关键利率维持在3.50%至3.75%区间不变，这将是自2024年9月开始降息以来连续第二次暂停加息。对普通家庭而言，这意味着大宗消费品的月供可能在目前仍将维持在较高水平。
特朗普承诺降低成本；伊朗冲突现已威胁这一承诺
联邦公开市场委员会会议是政策制定者决定利率是否维持高位或开始下调的闭门会议。（迈克尔·纳格尔/彭博社通过盖蒂图片社）
美联储不愿降息，反映出其认为通胀仍略高于目标水平，而更广泛的经济和地缘政治不确定性则进一步强化了保持谨慎的理由。
美联储主席杰罗姆·鲍威尔（Jerome Powell）将于周三下午就这一决定分享更多细节。
美国央行不会直接设定食品、汽车或房屋的价格，但会影响借贷成本，而这对家庭每月的支出会产生重大影响。
目前，借贷成本高昂。高利率意味着抵押贷款、汽车贷款和信用卡的月供会增加，即便房屋或车辆的售价并无变化。
对许多美国人来说，即便通胀有所降温，生活仍然可能显得难以负担。物价上涨速度可能放缓，但大宗消费品的融资成本依然高企。
特朗普与美联储的较量：冲突如何进入未知领域
这种压力在住房和汽车市场尤为显著——这两个市场是大多数家庭最大的支出项目。一套房屋或一辆汽车的价格可能与一年前大致相当，但附带的贷款却能使月账单增加数百美元。消费者支付更多并非因为资产本身变得更昂贵，而是因为借贷成本上升。
这一背景已成为唐纳德·特朗普总统的政治负担。特朗普曾以恢复经济可负担性、缓解家庭财务压力为竞选口号，但在中期选举周期临近之际，选民对这种缓解是否切实发生的怀疑日益加深。
特朗普多次推动降低利率，并指责鲍威尔没有更积极地降息，尽管他仍在吹嘘经济表现强劲。通常情况下，降息是为了支持放缓的经济，而非表现良好的经济。
如果特朗普本就急于让美联储降息，那么与伊朗的冲突可能进一步复杂化这一局面。油价上涨重新引发了通胀担忧，可能为美联储官员提供了另一个保持谨慎的理由。
如果伊朗战争持续，能源成本居高不下，不仅会影响本周的决策，还可能影响未来降息的前景——延长高借贷成本的时期，从而持续给家庭预算带来压力。
阿曼达负责报道福克斯新闻数字版的商业与政治交叉领域。
One little-known meeting helps decide what Americans can afford — and what they can’t
The Federal Reserve will set interest rates Wednesday
By Amanda Macias
Fox News
Published March 18, 2026 9:12am EDT
When it comes to what Americans can afford, no institution looms larger than the Federal Reserve.
That is especially true as the Fed on Wednesday concludes its two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the closed-door session where policymakers decide whether interest rates will remain high or begin to ease.
The Fed is widely expected to keep its key interest rate unchanged at 3.50% to 3.75%, marking a second straight pause after a series of cuts dating back to September 2024. For households, that means monthly payments on big-ticket purchases are likely to stay elevated for now.
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The Federal Open Market Committee meeting is a closed-door session where policymakers decide whether interest rates will remain high or begin to ease.(Michael Nagle/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The reluctance to cut reflects the Fed’s view that inflation is still running somewhat above its target, while broader economic and geopolitical uncertainty is reinforcing the case for caution.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will share further details about the decision on Wednesday afternoon.
The nation’s central bank doesn’t set the price of groceries, cars or homes directly. But it does influence how expensive it is to borrow money, and that can make a significant difference in what families pay each month.
Right now, borrowing is costly. High interest rates mean larger monthly payments on mortgages, car loans and credit cards, even if the price of a home or vehicle hasn’t changed.
For many Americans, that is why life can still feel unaffordable even as inflation has cooled. Prices may not be rising as quickly, but the cost of financing big purchases remains high.
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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is widely expected to announce that the central bank will hold rates steady this week.(Roberto Schmidt/AFP/Getty Images)
That strain is especially visible in the housing and auto markets, two of the biggest expenses for most households. A home or car may cost about the same as it did a year ago, but the loan attached to it can add hundreds of dollars to the monthly bill. Consumers are often paying more not because the asset itself has become more expensive, but because the cost of borrowing did.
That backdrop has become a political liability for President Donald Trump, who campaigned on restoring affordability and easing household financial strain but now faces growing voter skepticism over whether that relief is materializing ahead of the midterm election cycle.
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President Donald Trump speaks about the military strikes against Iran on March 9, 2026, at Trump National Doral Miami.(Mark Schiefelbein/AP Photo)
Trump has repeatedly pushed for lower interest rates and blamed Powell for not cutting more aggressively, even as he continues to tout a strong economy. Typically, rate cuts are used to support a slowing economy, not one that is performing well.
And if Trump was already eager for a Fed rate cut, the conflict with Iran may have further complicated the picture. Rising oil prices have revived inflation concerns, potentially giving Fed officials another reason to stay cautious.
If the Iran war drags on and energy costs remain elevated, it could cloud not just this week’s decision but the outlook for future cuts as well — prolonging the stretch of high borrowing costs that has kept pressure on household budgets.
Amanda covers the intersection of business and politics for Fox News Digital.
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