Fed Chair Powell notes the coronavirus outbreak as posing uncertainty to the global growth outlook.
WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at its meeting this week and tweaked its post-meeting statement to reflect what appears to be a stronger commitment to nudge up inflation.
The decision marked the second straight meeting the Fed made no changes to rates following three consecutive reductions in 2019. The rate sets the standard for what banks charge each other for overnight lending but also is used as a benchmark for much consumer debt. That language differed from the long-standing boilerplate statement that the Fed was looking to get inflation "near" the benchmark that it considers healthy for a growing economy.
Officials hope they can jawbone inflation higher by committing to keeping rates low until the inflation level rises. They even have indicated, through the "symmetric" terminology, that they will allow inflation to run above target for a while.
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