The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. Economic activity and employment have picked up in recent months but remain well below their levels at the beginning of the year. Weaker demand and significantly lower oil prices are holding down consumer price inflation. Overall financial conditions have improved in recent months, in part reflecting policy measures ... (full story)

The Federal Reserve kept its pledge to keep interest rates anchored near zero and pledged to keep rates there until inflation rises consistently. As the central bank concluded its two-day policy meeting Wednesday, it said short-term rates would remain targeted at 0%-0.25%. Officials also changed their economic forecasts to reflect a smaller decline in GDP and a lower unemployment rate in 2020. The decision comes amid stronger economic data during the third quarter. Most economists see a sharp rebound for the U.S. after it plunged into recession in February, a month before the World Health Organization declared the ... (full story)

This is a comparison of Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee statement with the one issued after the Fed’s previous policy-making meeting on July 29. Text removed from the July statement is in red with a horizontal line through the middle. Text appearing for the first time in the new statement is in red and underlined. The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. The coronavirus outbreak COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United ... (full story)