The Federal Reserve’s monetary policy committee held constant the federal funds rate at a top target of 5.5% at the conclusion of its June meeting. …Compared to the Fed’s May statement, the current statement upgraded “lack of progress” stated in May to “modest further progress” referred to this month with respect to achieving the central bank’s 2% inflation target. The FOMC’s statement also noted (consistent with its commentary in May): The Committee does not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent.  Overall, the central bank continues to look for sustained, lower inflation readings, with the data having shown insufficient progress during the first quarter. The May CPI data was a step in the right direction, but the central bank will remain data dependent with respect to an eventual easing of monetary policy.