The Federal Reserve announced Wednesday that near-zeroshort-term interest rates are likely to remain in place “”at leastthrough late 2014.''
|The decision, which was announced following a meeting of thecentral bank's policymaking Federal Open Market Committee, was madebecause of sluggish economic growth, according to a newsrelease.
|The Fed noted that while “indicators point to some furtherimprovement in overall labor market conditions, the unemploymentrate remains elevated. Household spending has continued to advance,but growth in business fixed investment has slowed, and the housingsector remains depressed.
|Inflation has been subdued in recent months, and longer-terminflation expectations have remained stable.''
|The Fed's targeted funds rate, currently between zero and .25%, is theinterest rate at which depository institutions lend balances at theFederal Reserve to other depository institutions overnight.
|The committee, which last August had announced that it probablywould keep rates unchanged through mid-2013, made today's decisionby a 9-1 vote.
|Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond President Jeffrey Lacker wasthe sole dissenter.
|According to the Fed's release he “preferred to omit thedescription of the time period over which economic conditions arelikely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal fundsrate.''
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