The Economic Times daily newspaper is available online now.

    US Fed leaves interest rates near zero amid US election uncertainty

    Synopsis

    The Fed kept the federal funds target rate in a range of zero to 0.25%, where it’s been since March.

    Jerome PowellAP
    Fed Chair Jerome Powell
    By Christopher Condon

    Federal Reserve officials kept monetary policy in a holding pattern, leaving interest rates near zero and making no change to asset purchases, as the final results of U.S. presidential and congressional elections remain uncertain.

    “Economic activity and employment have continued to recover but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a statement Thursday following a two-day meeting, largely repeating language on the economy they’ve employed since July. That marked only a slight tweak from the previous statement saying the economy and jobs had “picked up in recent months.”

    The Fed kept the federal funds target rate in a range of zero to 0.25%, where it’s been since March.

    “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 FOMC said in language identical to the prior statement in September.

    While vote counting continues in closely-contested U.S. states, the two major parties could split control of Washington. Democrat Joe Biden is on the brink of capturing the White House from Donald Trump, and his party will retain the House of Representatives. But control of the Senate may hinge on runoff elections in Georgia.

    A split outcome would reduce the chances for a big fiscal stimulus package from Congress in the new year, even as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to threaten the economy. That may put more pressure on the Fed to ramp up its bond buying, or at least change the composition of its purchases, in an attempt to lower borrowing costs and further boost the recovery.

    “With fiscal support looking both smaller and less likely, the Fed will have to think harder about what it can do to steer the economy in the desired direction,” Roberto Perli, a former Fed economist and partner at Cornerstone Macro LLC in Washington, said before the meeting.

    Fed officials, however, made no change to monthly purchases on Thursday and gave no signal they might do so when they meet again Dec. 15-16.

    The FOMC’s statement repeated its past pledge to increase holdings of Treasury and mortgage-backed securities in the coming months “at least at the current pace.”

    Combined monthly purchases of the securities currently total about $120 billion.

    The economic recovery remains uneven against a backdrop of surging Covid-19 cases, with more than 12 million Americans still out of work. October’s employment report, due Friday, is expected to show the jobless rate continuing to edge down to 7.6%, while the pace of new hiring probably cooled for the fourth consecutive month.

    The vote was unanimous. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, a voter this year, did not attend the meeting following the birth of a child Tuesday. San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly voted as an alternate.



    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more


    (What's moving Sensex and Nifty Track latest market news, stock tips and expert advice, on ETMarkets. Also, ETMarkets.com is now on Telegram. For fastest news alerts on financial markets, investment strategies and stocks alerts, subscribe to our Telegram feeds .)

    Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.

    Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the Economic Times ePaper Online.and Sensex Today.

    Top Trending Stocks: SBI Share Price, Axis Bank Share Price, HDFC Bank Share Price, Infosys Share Price, Wipro Share Price, NTPC Share Price

    ...more
    The Economic Times

    Stories you might be interested in