Federal Reserve remains mysterious about next rate hike

Janet Yellen says June is on the table, but Wall Street doesn’t see a hike anytime soon.

The Federal Reserve declined to hike interest rates on Wednesday, but signaled that the central bank could make it more expensive to borrow money at its next meeting if economic conditions continue to improve.

The Federal Open Market Committee cited the “moderate” pace of economic growth as a factor keeping rates between 0.25 and 0.5 percent, where they’ve been since December.

“Strong” job growth and an improving housing market weren’t enough to beat back the Fed’s concerns over low growth and low inflation, which remains under the 2 percent target for the long run, according to the central bank.

While Yellen was open to hiking at the next meeting, the market thinks there’s only a 20 percent chance that happening.

“There is nothing ‘moderate’ about the economy at this moment,” Lindsey Piegza, chief economist at Stifel Nicolaus, told The Post.

Another factor that could play a part in the timing of a hike: the US election. The central bank has historically shied away from moving rates during election years.