The two-day US FOMC meeting concludes today, with the status quo policy stance looking a script written on stone. The calls for a rate pause have got louder following a sharp slowdown in consumer price inflation released yesterday. We believe that the US Fed would breathe a sigh of relief as the core point of discussion i.e. inflation is moving to a lower trajectory and provides the central bank a leeway to adopt a “wait and watch” approach to its hawkish monetary policy. We would be closely monitoring the post-meeting commentary from the Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, for signs of a pivot to rate hikes. Additionally, the central bank’s reading of the financial stability and a probable slowdown in economic growth would be eyed for gauging the use of further ammunition by the Fed at its next policy meeting in July.