Institution: Rising prices are the primary concern for American consumers. The Federal Reserve's decision not to cut interest rates is correct.

Numerator's chief economist Leo Feler said that despite facing increasing pressure to lower interest rates, the Federal Reserve's decision to hold steady is the right one. The Fed is currently working to balance its dual mandate. However, monthly consumer sentiment surveys show that people's concerns about rising prices are still much greater than the issue of unemployment. In Numerator's monthly survey of around 2,000 representative households last year, "rising prices" was always consumers' top concern, ranking above unemployment, economic recession, crime, or immigration issues. Even though the current inflation rate has fallen to below 3%, this ranking has not changed. Economists, business leaders, and consumers in general expect inflation to rise again. Although tariffs have not significantly raised consumer prices, this does not mean that price hikes will not occur. Currently, everyone is in a wait-and-see mode, but business leaders have clearly stated that they will raise prices once the economic environment becomes clearer. Given that inflation risk is higher than unemployment risk in the context of tariffs, and people are highly sensitive to inflation, the Fed's cautious approach within its mandate is indeed wise.