The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday said it
would keep its benchmark interest rate at historic lows of 0 to 0.25
per cent as it seeks to bolster economic growth, but announced no
further stimulus measures after taking new action last month.
The central bank said the US economy was growing at a "moderate
pace" and that it would continue to keep rates low through at least
mid-2015 as the employment situation continues to rebound.
The Fed said household spending advanced "a bit more quickly" and
that the housing market improved even as business investment slowed.
Inflation had picked up as energy prices rose.
No major announcements had been expected from the central bank
after it announced a new bond buying programme last month and as it
was unlikely to take a major change just prior to the US elections.
At its September meeting, the US central bank announced a move to
expand its holdings of long-term securities by buying up 40 billion
dollars a month of mortgage-backed securities for an indefinite
period.
The Fed said Wednesday it would continue that programme, called
QE3. It is the third round of quantitative easing by the Federal
Reserve since 2008 when the country dipped into recession.
The Fed will also continue through the end of the year its
Operation Twist programme to buy long-term bonds with proceeds from
the sale of shorter-term bonds.
It indicated that if the labour market "does not improve
substantially" it would continue its assets purchases and that it
would keep interest rates low "for a considerable time after the
economic recovery strengthens."
