The Federal Reserve ended its two-day meeting Wednesday, and as expected the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) did not raise interest rates. Further, in an exact parallel to its last statement, it noted that US inflation remained under control, stating:
With substantial resource slack likely to continue to dampen cost pressures and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued for some time.
September inflation data indicated that consumer prices declined 1.3% during the prior 12 months and that core annual inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy prices, rose just 1.5% — well within the Federal Reserve’s comfort range of between 1%-2%.
It appears its benchmark federal funds rate will remain virtually at zero for some time as the "economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time," according to the FOMC.
"The one consistent theme with all the Fed speakers is that they’re not going to raise rates any time soon," Drew Matus, an economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, was quoted on NYTimes.com. "That is the one consistent theme that gets hammered home time and again."
In a unanimous vote, the FOMC decided to keep its key rate unchanged in a range of zero to 0.25 percent.
The released Fed statement follows in its entirety: Continue reading US Inflation Remains ‘Subdued’, Says Fed