The U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to keep its key interest rate unchanged amid expectations of higher inflation and lower economic growth.

After a two-day meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed said in a statement Wednesday that it decided to maintain its key lending rate within the current range of four-point-25 percent to four-point-five percent.

The move comes after the Fed left the rate at that level at its three previous meetings in January, March and May.

The Fed said uncertainty about the economic outlook has diminished but remains elevated. 

The policymakers maintained their outlook for interest rate cuts for this year, expecting rates to drop to three-point-nine percent by the end of the year with two possible cuts of 25 basis points each. 

The latest move maintains the two percentage point gap between the Fed’s rate and that of the Bank of Korea.