Federal Reserve Board Chairman Jerome Powell announced a pause in cuts to the agency’s target lending rate, which remains at 4.25% to 4.5% following a series of reductions that began in September and ended with a final quarter-point interest rate cut in December.

The Fed faces a delicate balancing act: Further rate reductions could exacerbate inflation, which remains “somewhat elevated,” according to an official statement accompanying the decision; an extended pause could negatively affect the labor market.

“The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run,” the statement reads, in part. “The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance. The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate.”

Read more at FederalReserve.gov