As expected, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) ended their two-day meeting by keeping interest rates unchanged at 0-0.25% and bond purchases at $ 120 billion.
The Federal Reserve (Fed) unanimously agrees that there is progress toward achieving the targets, and policymakers will continue to evaluate that progress at future meetings.
Even so, Chairman Jerome Powell says that the central bank is still a long way from considering raising interest rates.
Through a follow -up statement from the meeting, Powell said that policymakers have discussed how they will reduce asset purchases when the time comes. However, there is no decision on when the reduction will be made.
This suggests that the Fed is ready to reduce their bond purchases, but still wants to wait to see further significant progress in achieving the central bank’s jobs and inflation targets.
In addition, Powell also said his views on the Delta virus variant that has driven the surge of Covid-19 cases in the United States in recent weeks.
While acknowledging that the variant has posed risks, but as long as it does not cause any closure measures to be implemented, he does not see that it will pose a major threat to the current economic recovery.
Speaking of inflation, Powell still sees the rise as only temporary as sector -driven in connection with the reopening of the economy, and he is confident that this price pressure will ease as supply chain disruptions subside and demand returns to normal.
