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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| US central bank holds interest rates unchanged | US central bank holds interest rates unchanged |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The US central bank has decided to hold interest rates steady, keeping them at the same level since December 2008. | The US central bank has decided to hold interest rates steady, keeping them at the same level since December 2008. |
| The Federal Reserve said nine members of its Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold the key federal funds rate target at 0 to 0.25%. | The Federal Reserve said nine members of its Federal Open Market Committee voted to hold the key federal funds rate target at 0 to 0.25%. |
| Committee member Jeffrey Lacker was the only dissenter, favouring a 0.25 percentage point rise. | Committee member Jeffrey Lacker was the only dissenter, favouring a 0.25 percentage point rise. |
| The Fed hinted that concerns about the strength of the global economy influenced the decision. | The Fed hinted that concerns about the strength of the global economy influenced the decision. |
| "Recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term," the committee said in a statement. | "Recent global economic and financial developments may restrain economic activity somewhat and are likely to put further downward pressure on inflation in the near term," the committee said in a statement. |
| Signs of weaker growth and stock market turmoil in China have led to fear among investors about US economic growth. | |
| 'Economic conditions' | |
| The Fed's long-term policy is to keep interest rates low until employment levels improve further and the main US inflation rate approaches its 2% target. Inflation is currently at about 1.2% in the US, kept down by cheaper oil and a strong dollar. | |
| The central bank said in its statement that it still wants to see more improvement in the labour market, even though recent data showed the unemployment rate for August was at 5.1%, the lowest since 2008. | |
| The Fed also wants to be "reasonably confident" that inflation will increase. | |
| "The committee currently anticipates that, even after employment and inflation are near mandate-consistent levels, economic conditions may, for some time, warrant keeping the target federal funds rate below levels the Committee views as normal in the longer run," it said. | |
| Disappointing or right? | |
| US stocks rose and the dollar fell after the Fed's announcement. | |
| The Dow Jones industrial average was up 0.28%, to 16,786.58, the S&P 500 rose 0.45%, to 2,004.26 and the Nasdaq gained 0.61%, to 4,918.90. | |
| The dollar index, which compares the value of the currency with six other currencies, fell 0.81%, to 94.651. | |
| In the UK, the reaction from business groups was mixed. | |
| James Sproule, chief economist at the Institute of Directors said: "The Federal Reserve's decision to hold interest rates is disappointing. It lacks the bold and necessary steps which must be taken to normalise monetary policy." | |
| Meanwhile, John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "Given the current global uncertainty, the Fed was right to keep rates on hold for now, and avoid exacerbating the problem." |