As had been widely expected, the Federal Reserve left benchmark borrowing costs at a 23-year high for an eighth consecutive meeting this afternoon, but avoided providing anything resembling a clear easing signal.

In the statement setting out the decision, officials acknowledged making “some further progress” toward their 2 percent inflation goal—implying more confidence in a sustained moderation than the “modest further progress” phrasing deployed in June—but noted that price growth still “remains somewhat elevated”.

The Federal Open Market Committee said “Job gains have moderated, and the unemployment rate has moved up but remains low,” meaning that the “risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals continue to move into better balance”. “The economic outlook is uncertain, and the Committee is attentive to the risks to both sides of its dual mandate”.

Defying expectations for a more open stance, language from the June statement was preserved, saying “The Committee would be prepared to adjust the stance of monetary policy as appropriate if risks emerge that could impede the attainment of the Committee’s goals”.

The decision comes on the heels of a prolonged decline in underlying inflation pressures, and after a series of data releases showed labour markets softening, with the unemployment rate climbing, hiring slowing, and signs of excess demand dissipating.

The underlying decision was widely anticipated in financial markets, and a September rate cut has been fully priced into swap curves for several weeks, but dovish comments from former Fed officials like Bill Dudley and Alan Blinder had prepared investors for a more meaningful easing signal. Front-end Treasury yields are climbing, and the dollar is reversing some of this morning’s losses as traders brace for continued uncertainty in the weeks leading up to the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium.

Currency market price action could intensify in the coming minutes as Jerome Powell describes the balance of risks during the post-decision press conference, with traders paying particular heed to the emphasis placed on labour market developments. If the chair acknowledges clear signs of slowing momentum, a disappointment in Friday’s payrolls report could still clinch the odds on a more definitive (but still conditional) pivot at the end of August, putting the dollar under renewed selling pressure.