WASHINGTON - The United States Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Jan 31 but took a major step towards lowering them in the coming months in a policy statement that tempered inflation concerns with other risks to the economy and dropped a longstanding reference to possible further hikes in borrowing costs.
The US central bank's latest policy statement gave no hint that a rate cut was imminent, and indeed said the policy-setting Federal
Open Market Committee (FOMC) does not expect it will be appropriate to "reduce the target range until it has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably towards 2 per cent", the Fed's inflation target.
"Inflation has eased over the past year, but remains elevated," the Fed said in the statement after a two-day meeting, restating that officials "remain highly attentive to inflation risks".
Speaking after the FOMC meeting in a press conference, Fed chairman Jerome Powell cautioned that the Fed's struggle to lower inflation is not over.
"We are not declaring victory, we think we still have a way to go," he said.
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Denne historien er fra February 02, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
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