The Federal Reserve is committed to using its full range of tools to support the U.S. economy in this challenging time, thereby promoting its maximum employment and price stability goals. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. The pace of the recovery in economic activity and employment has moderated in recent months, with weakness concentrated in the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic. Weaker demand and earlier declines in oil prices have been holding down consumer price inflation. Overall financial conditions remain ... (full story)

The Federal Open Market Committee, at its annual organizational meeting this week, unanimously reaffirmed its "Statement of Longer-Run Goals and Monetary Policy Strategy." The reaffirmed statement is identical to the statement adopted in August 2020 following the Committee's review of its monetary policy strategy, tools, and communication practices, which included numerous public Fed Listens events around the country. The Committee first adopted a framework statement in 2012. (full story)

The Federal Reserve kept its foot to the floor Wednesday in terms of the help it is providing for an economy that central bank officials say has slowed down. Consistent with market expectations, the policymaking Federal Open Market Committee said it was keeping its benchmark short-term borrowing rate anchored near zero and maintaining an asset purchasing program that is seeing the Fed buy at least $120 billion a month. At the core of the move to keep policy historically accommodative was an economy in which the sectors most vulnerable to the pandemic are taking the hardest hit. “The pace of the recovery in economic ... (full story)