Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady for final meeting of the decade.
The Fed has slashed its benchmark rate three times this year, including at its last two-day meeting, on October 29-30, in response to prevailing global economic headwinds. That was a sharp turnaround from 2018, when Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell attracted President Donald Trump's ire for raising rates four times in a row in order to manage inflationary pressure.
2019 has proven to be a challenging year for Trump-appointee Powell, who has been careful to note that the central bank has steered the economy through a series of rate cuts in response to financial conditions, not political rhetoric., strong corporate earnings, and robust consumer spending, Powell has indicated he has seen no reason to adjust the nation's current monetary course.
"The Fed says the current level of interest rates is ‘appropriate’ to support the economy," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.com."Translation: the Fed is on the sidelines and expects to be there for much or all of 2020." Wednesday's decision underscores the Fed's belief that rates are currently low enough to grow an economy that has so far been insulated from any severe fallout from Trump's monthslong trade war with China and sluggish economic growth in countries such as Germany.
“The [FOMC] committee judges that the current stance of monetary policy is appropriate to support sustained expansion of economic activity, strong labor market conditions, and inflation near the committee’s symmetric 2 percent objective," according to a statement released Wednesday.
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Fed holds rates steady and indicates no changes through at least 2020FED DECISION: The U.S. Federal Reserve has unanimously voted to leave interest rates unchanged.
Read more »
Fed expected to leave interest rates alone as Trump pushes for more cutsThe Federal Reserve has erased nearly half of all the rate increases of the past two years since July -- but now the central bank is expected to halt any further cuts even as President Donald Trump continues to push for more.
Read more »
Fed Likely to Hold Rates Steady After Busy YearFederal Reserve officials are likely to hold their benchmark interest rate steady and aren’t expected to make notable changes to their wait-and-see posture.
Read more »
Fed sees no action on rates until 2021The Federal Reserve released its forecast for its main interest rate on Wednesday.
Read more »
Fed leaves rates steady, signals pause in 2020The Federal Reserve holds interest rates steady, halting a series of rate cuts that lifted markets and countered recession fears
Read more »