The Federal Reserve is signaling that it plans to keep a key interest rate at a record low for a considerable period because a broad range of U.S. economic measures remain subpar.
The Fed says it plans to keep its benchmark rate near zero as long as inflation remains under control, until it sees consistent gains in wage growth, long-term unemployment and other gauges of the job market.
Additionally, the Federal Reserve announced that it will stop buying bonds to prop up the US economy.
That stimulus program, known as quantitative easing, will come to an end next month.
The Guardian’s Heidi Moore joins Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson to explain what the move means.
- The Associated Press contributed reporting.
Guest
- Heidi Moore, U.S. finance and economics editor for The Guardian. She tweets @moorehn.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.