The U.S. Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued a statement on April 28 local time saying U.S. economic and employment indicators had strengthened due to the spread of Coronavirus vaccine and strong policy support.
To continue to mitigate the economic impact of the new pneumonia outbreak on the U.S., the Fed will work to use a full range of measures to support the U.S. economy, including keeping the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25 percent, and will continue to hold at least $80 billion in additional U.S. Treasury bonds and at least $40 billion a month in institutional mortgage-backed securities until substantial progress is made toward maximum employment and price stability targets, the statement said.
Federal Reserve Chairman Colin Powell also held a press conference on the 28th, reiterated the Fed’s goals and decisions. Mr Powell said the Fed was trying to keep inflation below 2 per cent and while it was expected to be just over 2 per cent for some time, keeping the average inflation rate at 2 per cent was the Fed’s long-term goal.
The Fed’s statement said the $120 billion-a-month buyback of bond assets would help boost market operations and ensure loose financial conditions to support credit to households and businesses.
