Maintain Base Interest Rate and Asset Purchase Pace
[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] The U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), announced on the 17th (local time) after a two-day Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting that it would keep the benchmark interest rate unchanged and maintain the current pace of asset purchases.
The dot plot recorded by Fed officials indicated that there would be no rate hikes until 2023. However, compared to the December FOMC meeting last year, the number of officials suggesting possible rate hikes in 2023 slightly increased.
The Fed projected the U.S. economic growth rate for this year at 6.5%, an upward revision from the 4.2% forecast in December last year.
The Fed also estimated the core inflation rate for this year at 2.2%, which exceeds the Fed's inflation target of 2%.
However, the Fed has taken the stance since introducing the average inflation targeting last year that it would not raise the benchmark interest rate even if inflation slightly exceeds 2%.
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