The Federal Reserve Board opted to keep interest rates near zero as it maintained its previous positions regarding the US economy and the ongoing concerns about the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reports.
“The ongoing public health crisis will continue to weigh on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in a Thursday statement.
In language nearly identical to its September statement, The Fed announced it would make no increase to its purchases of bonds, maintaining status quo.
The statement from the board, which is released every six weeks, seems to recognize that a potential political split in the Washington, with Democrats holding the White House and House of Representatives, while republicans appear to maintain control of the Senate, will continue economic aid talks to keep at a standstill through the transition and into the next year.
The Board voted unanimously to approve the statement, signalling general consensus among the members that the economic impact of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will be felt widely across the nation.