WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record-low level of near zero after concluding the final policy meeting of 2020.
"Economic activity and employment have continued to recover but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year," the Fed said in a statement after the meeting, noting the path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus.
"The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term," the Fed said, deciding to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0-0.25 percent.
The central bank also said that it will continue to increase its holdings of Treasury securities by at least 80 billion U.S. dollars per month and of agency mortgage-backed securities by at least 40 billion dollars per month until "substantial further progress has been made" toward the Fed's maximum employment and price stability goals.
The Fed cut interest rates to near zero at two unscheduled meetings in March and began purchasing massive quantities of U.S. treasuries and agency mortgage-backed securities to repair financial markets.
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