Federal Reserve Keeps Interest Rates Fixed

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell announced today, they have “decided to leave our policy rate unchanged”. This will “maintain the target range for the federal funds rate (interest rate) at 1‑1/2 to 1-3/4 percent.” Chairman Powell remarked how the current interest rate “is well positioned to serve the American people by supporting continued economic growth, a strong job market, and a return of inflation to our symmetric 2 percent goal.”

Economic expansion “is in its 11th year, the longest on record.” “The unemployment rate has been near half-century lows for well more than a year” and there is “a healthy job market, rising incomes, and upbeat consumer confidence”. However, the Fed Chairman noted how “business investment and exports remain weak, and manufacturing output has declined over the past year.” “Sluggish growth abroad”, he added, has “been weighing on activity in these sectors.” While “there are some signs that global growth may be stabilizing…, uncertainties about the outlook remain, including those posed by the new coronavirus.”