The Federal Reserve is nearly certain to keep its key interest rate unchanged at its policy meeting this week, just a few days after President Donald Trump said he would soon demand lower rates.

Eight days after President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, Federal Reserve officials will gather in Washington to discuss the outlook for interest-rate policy, with a goal of simply trying to stay out of the way.

Donald Trump’s return to the White House is overshadowing the Fed’s meeting this week, with policymakers expected to pause changes to interest rates for now.

The Federal Reserve is not expected to cut interest rates on Wednesday but the US central bank’s policy is already under scrutiny from President Donald Trump. Investors overwhelmingly expect the Fed to hold rates at their current level of 4.25-4.5 per cent, after three consecutive cuts since September.

The Federal Reserve has scrubbed a "Diversity and Inclusion" section from its website, with previous links to a statement of the U.S. central bank's diversity standards and data on the racial, ethnic and gender makeup of its economists and researchers now defaulting to its home page.

The Federal Reserve said Friday that it is leaving an international grouping of central banks that focused on how the financial system could help combat climate change

Jerome H. Powell has been a member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) since May 25, 2012, appointed by then-President Barack Obama to fill an unexpired term. He was reappointed by Obama and sworn in on June 16, 2014, for a term that expires on Jan. 31, 2028.

Many economists have felt relief over continued GDP growth. But ongoing data releases suggest that the foundation of the economy — consumer spending — isn’t sustainable.

The U.S. Federal Reserve announced on Friday it had withdrawn from a global body of central banks and regulators devoted to exploring ways to police climate risk in the financial system. In a statement,

President Donald Trump ordered the creation of a digital asset working group on Thursday which, among other things, would be tasked with exploring a U.S. cryptocurrency stockpile.

Financial markets are still concerned about inflation. The Fed influences short-term interest rates, which are falling, but longer-term bonds like the 10-year Treasury are a better reflection of inflation expectations.

The Fed is unlikely to cut interest rates again when it meets next week, delaying any relief from high borrowing costs.