MOSCOW, December 13 Following the December meeting, the US Federal Reserve System (FRS) for the third time kept the base interest rate at 5.25-5.5% per annum , follows from the regulator’s press release.
The decision coincided with the forecasts of most analysts. The rate remains at its highest level since 2001.
«»The Open Market Committee strives to achieve maximum employment and inflation of 2% in the long term. In support of these goals, the committee decided to maintain the target rate range at 5.25-5.5% per annum,” the regulator said in a release.
The regulator noted that it continues to closely monitor inflation risks. The Fed also notes that in determining the extent of any additional policy tightening, the committee will consider the aggregate tightening of monetary policy, the lag with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial events.
The Fed raised the base rate to 5.25-5.5% per annum following the July meeting. The regulator said then that it considers it appropriate to further increase the rate to achieve maximum employment in the economy and a target inflation rate of 2% in the long term. At the next two meetings, September and November, the regulator kept the discount rate at this level.
In June, the Fed kept the discount rate at 5-5.25% for the first time since January 2022. Before this, the American central bank continuously increased it to combat accelerating inflation.