The U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate unchanged for the fifth consecutive time. 

Following a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed said in a statement that it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at five-point-25 percent to five-point-five percent.

The Fed said in a statement that recent indicators suggest economic activity has been expanding at a solid pace, job gains have remained strong and the unemployment rate has remained low, adding inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated.

The statement stressed that the economic outlook is uncertain and the Committee remains highly attentive to inflation risks.

Wednesday's decision maintains the two-percentage-point gap between the Fed’s rate and that of the Bank of Korea.

The Committee's March projections for rate cuts showed a year-end rate of four-point-six percent, which translates to three zero-point-25 percentage point cuts. 

Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference that if the economy evolves as broadly as expected, it will likely be appropriate to begin dialing back policy restraint at some point this year.