The Fed is meeting this week. Here's what experts are saying about the odds of a rate cut.

Americans are bearing the financial burden of higher costs for every type of loan, from mortgages to credit cards, after two years of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. With the central bank meeting Wednesday, economists and consumers alike have one question on their minds: When will the central bank start cutting rates? 

The answer: Almost certainly not this month, and probably not at its next meeting, according to Wall Street forecasters.

Most economists polled by financial data company FactSet think the Fed will keep its benchmark rate steady on Wednesday, as well as at its following meeting on May 1. Consumers holding out for lower borrowing costs may have to wait until the following month for relief, with about half of economists now penciling in the Fed's June 12 meeting for the first cut in four years, FactSet data shows.