China News Service, New York, March 17 (Reporter Wang Fan) The US Federal Reserve announced on the 17th that it will maintain the target range of the federal funds rate unchanged at 0-0.25%, and it is expected that interest rates close to zero will continue until 2023. .
The Federal Reserve issued a statement after a two-day regular monetary policy meeting, stating that the new crown epidemic has caused great difficulties for the United States and the world economy.
After experiencing a slowdown in the pace of economic recovery, US economic activity and employment indicators have risen recently, but the sectors impacted by the epidemic remain weak.
The inflation rate in the United States continues to be below 2%, and the overall financial situation remains accommodative.
The statement said that the development of the US economy depends to a large extent on the results of epidemic prevention and control, including the progress of vaccination.
The current public health crisis will continue to suppress economic activity, employment and inflation, and pose considerable risks to the economic outlook.
The Federal Open Market Committee, the decision-making body of the Federal Reserve, stated that it will seek to achieve full employment and a long-term inflation rate of 2%, and will maintain a loose monetary policy stance until the target is reached.
The committee said that the US GDP is expected to grow by 6.5% in 2021, which is a substantial increase from the 4.2% estimated in December last year.
Regarding the recent rise in US long-term Treasury yields, Fed Chairman Powell stated after the regular monetary policy meeting that the current monetary policy is appropriate and that the Fed will maintain its current asset purchase portfolio, that is, increase at a rate of at least $80 billion per month. Hold U.S. Treasury bonds and purchase institutional mortgage-backed securities at a rate of no less than 40 billion U.S. dollars per month.
On the same day, the Fed also announced a dot matrix chart of interest rate hike paths that have attracted much attention from the financial market. Most committee members believe that interest rates close to zero will continue until 2023.
However, the dot plot shows that among the 18 members of the Federal Reserve, 4 predict that interest rates will start to increase in 2022, and 7 predict that they will raise interest rates at least once in 2023. The number of those who made the above two predictions is different from that in December last year. rise.
The Wall Street Journal quoted analysts as saying that the Fed has revealed that it is optimistic about the economic outlook, but it will not raise interest rates until it sees significant economic growth and inflation reaches and anchors at 2%. .
(Finish)