Federal Reserve expected to leave rates untouched, at least until its fall meeting, experts say

The Federal Reserve is expected to keep benchmark interest rates unchanged during its meetings Tuesday and Wednesday in Washington, but that may not be the case when they meet again in mid-September. 

Inflation has been stuck above the Fed's preferred 2% target for more than five years, and new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh has indicated in testimony before Congress he has no patience for high inflation rates, the Associated Press reported. 

Fed analysts Joseph Egelhof and Guneet Dhingra at BNP Paribas Securities wrote that it's possible the Fed will pass a rate hike this week, but it's much more likely they'll hold off until the fall rather than risk disrupting financial markets, which aren't expecting a hike yet. 

The Fed may also want to see what the Commerce Department's data shows when the agency releases on Thursday the first look at April-June economic growth and the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index.