<Anchor> The
chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States, said that the so-called 'tapering' to reduce the release of money in the market could start within this year. However, it drew a line that there was still a long way to go before a rate hike, and the US stock market hit an all-time high.
This is Hwa Kang-yoon, staff reporter.
<Reporter> In
March of last year, when the coronavirus crisis struck, the US Federal Reserve lowered the key interest rate to zero and bought 120 billion dollars of government bonds every month from three months later.
It's the release of money to stimulate the economy, and Fed Chairman Powell has officially announced that it may taper, or cut asset purchases, later this year.
[Jerome Powell/Federal Reserve Chairman: If the economy develops as broadly as expected, I think it may be appropriate to start slowing down asset purchases during this year.]
Chairman Powell, however, offers a specific timetable, saying he will watch the spread of delta mutations. I didn't.
He also drew a line on early interest rate hikes.
“Even if we start tapering, this is not a signal that we will raise the base rate,” he said.
[Jerome Powell/Chairman of the Federal Reserve: There is still a long way to go before reaching maximum employment.] The
US stock market has hit an all-time high as concerns about austerity posed by interest rate hikes have dissipated.
It is expected to have a positive impact on the domestic financial market as well.
[Yeo-Sam Yoon/Researcher at Meritz Securities: Foreigners' departure was deepening, but I think that concerns about liquidity recovery in the US can be alleviated a little (expected)]
Despite the next move of the Bank of Korea, which raised the base rate on the 26th, The BOK is expected to take into account the peculiarities of the Korean economy, such as the surge in household debt and asset prices.
(Video editing: Ha Seong-won)