British inflation in May cooled to 3.4%, aligning with Bank of England expectations. Despite geopolitical tensions and rising energy costs due to the Middle East conflict, the BoE is likely to maintain interest rates.

The US central bank is expected to hold interest rates steady, but investors are keenly awaiting Chair Jerome Powell’s post-meeting comments and the updated “dot plot” that will signal the likely path of rate cuts this year.

By Isla Binnie and Naomi Rovnick NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) -Wall Street indexes posted modest gains and oil prices dipped on Wednesday as investors weighed the impacts of a Middle East conflict and a U.