The Federal Reserve kicks off its July meeting on Tuesday, with Fed Chair Jerome Powell set to speak on Wednesday and deliver the central bank's latest interest rate decision. Markets are largely expecting the Fed to hold rates steady,

Even while the Fed left its benchmark rate unchanged, many consumer rates have fluctuated over the first half of the year.

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.

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 Federal Reserve, by not cutting interest rates, is risking the creation of a deflationary downturn called a Kindleberger Spiral, a leading bond manager says.

Mortgage rates, which are primarily tied to 10-year Treasury yields in the bond market, are also sensitive to other factors, including investor outlook for future Fed moves. Economists will be closely listening to Fed Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting remarks for any hints about rate cuts later this year.

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.