The US central bank, the Fed, has again kept interest rates high - at 5.25% to 5.5%.

It comes despite the policymaker signaling in January that interest rate cuts were around the corner. Progress in bringing down rates and making borrowing cheaper has been hampered by rising inflation in the US.

Money latest: Bitcoin suffers nightmare month - and it's just got worse It could now be that rates are only cut once in 2024, less than expected, as high rates are deemed necessary to take money out of the economy and slow price rises. Data last week showed inflation hit 3.5% in March, up from 3.2% in February and 3.1% in January - above the Fed's inflation target and higher than expected.

Inflation falls are not guaranteed, with Fed chair Jerome Powell cautioning: "Further progress in bringing it down is not assured and the path forward is uncertain." More confidence that inflation is under control will be needed before policymakers start making any cuts. Gaining that confidence will take "longer than previously expected.