The Federal Reserve is expected to leave its short-term interest rate unchanged on Wednesday for the fifth straight meeting, a move that will likely underscore the deep divide between how Chair Jerome Powell and President Donald Trump see the economy.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will announce the central bank's latest interest rate decision and deliver remarks on Wednesday, with the market expecting rates to hold steady. Bank of America Securities senior US economist Stephen Juneau and Pangaea Policy founder Terry Haines discuss what they expect from the Fed meeting.

It meets July 29-30 to vote whether to cut interest rates for the first time this year. Many economists and market analysts expect the FOMC to hold interest rates steady. But expectations are growing that the next rate cut will come sooner than later.

The U.S. central bank, to President Donald Trump's chagrin, will likely leave interest rates unchanged at a policy meeting this week, but that's not to say there won't be a vigorous debate, with one if not two Federal Reserve governors possibly casting a rare dissent in support of lower borrowing costs.

Federal Reserve officials are determined to hold interest rates steady a little while longer, though an increasingly contentious debate at this week’s policy meeting may bolster expectations for rate cuts in the fall.

President Trump has kept up his campaign for Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to lower rates despite saying there was "no pressure."

For the past several months, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate has sat between 6.5% and 7%. Prospective homebuyers shouldn't hold their breath for that to change anytime soon. On July 30, the Federal Reserve is expected to keep borrowing rates the same at its fifth monetary policy meeting this year.

A federal judge on Monday denied a request by a Donald Trump ally to force the Federal Reserve committee responsible for directing US monetary policy to make its meetings publicly accessible and accused an investment firm of wasting the court’s time.

The average rate on 30-year fixed home loans registered 6.74% for the week ending July 24, down just barely from 6.75% last week.

Local banks say businesses are still taking out loans, despite elevated interest rates. In some cases, that's because they don't want to wait for rates to fall.