<Anchor> The
Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States, has announced that it will maintain its current zero interest rate.
The Fed determined that economic activity and employment conditions have been improving recently, but the recovery is still incomplete due to the large impact of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus.
This is Park Soo-jin.
<Reporter> The
Federal Reserve System, the central bank of the United States, held a regular meeting and decided to freeze the standard interest rate at the level of the current zero interest rate.
It is the eighth freeze since March last year.
The Fed lowered the standard interest rate from the previous 1% level to 0% when concerns about the economic downturn came out due to the global pandemic of the Corona at the time.
The Fed issued a statement and explained that although economic activity and employment indicators have recently improved at a smooth pace of recovery, the sectors that have been most affected by the Corona 19 pandemic are still vulnerable.
The Fed also forecasts that it will maintain zero interest rates until 2023.
It appears to be a willingness not to slow down the pace of growth through a premature rate hike in the face of an imperfect economy.
The economic outlook that has garnered the market's interest has been revised up considerably.
The Fed projected this year's economic growth to be 6.5 percent, higher than the 4.2 percent forecast in December last year.
The inflation rate this year was also expected to be 2.4%, higher than the 2% target, while the unemployment rate is expected to drop to 4.5% by the end of this year, expressing expectations for an economic recovery.
In order to curb long-term interest rates, it announced a plan to continue purchasing assets worth $120 billion per month.
The New York Stock Exchange rebounded at once as concerns over inflation declined as the benchmark interest rate was frozen, and the outlook for economic growth exceeded expectations.