Dubai: UAE residents hoping for an interest rate cut later today are likely to face a longer wait, with three market analysts expecting the US Federal Reserve to leave rates unchanged and keep the possibility of another increase in December open.

The Fed’s two-day meeting concludes on Wednesday, October 28. Its decision matters for UAE borrowers and savers because the dirham is pegged to the dollar and the UAE Central Bank’s base rate is anchored to the Fed’s interest rate on reserve balances.

A US hold would therefore point towards an unchanged UAE base rate, although the UAE Central Bank will announce its own decision. The local benchmark stands at 3.9%, following a quarter-percentage-point increase in September.

For residents, the analysts’ shared expectation offers little prospect of immediate relief driven by a policy rate cut.…