American families are growing sharply less optimistic about the economic outlook, but the Federal Reserve may be loathe to respond aggressively to a weakening economy in light of increasing worries that the Trump administration's trade policy will boost already elevated inflation.

Expectations for the next interest-rate reduction are being brought forward after the stock market’s big selloff at the start of the week. Investors had penciled in June as the most likely moment for

The Fed is not expected to cut interest rates at the conclusion of its next meeting on March 19, but there may be clues to the timing of the next cut.

The Federal Reserve is seen restarting interest-rate cuts in June, traders bet on Tuesday, as government data showed U.S. producer prices were unexpectedly flat last month and weekly jobless claims fell.

The Federal Reserve will keep interest rates steady through the first half of the year, before delivering two reductions beginning in September, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The Federal Reserve is still expected to cut interest rates this year — but not until the fall — as policymakers weigh the fallout from President Trump’s tariffs on trade partners, according to a survey released Friday.

Softer U.S. labor market conditions against the backdrop of trade-policy uncertainty have prompted Barclays to raise its expectations to two rate cuts by the Federal Reserve for the year from one.