The US Federal Reserve has voted to hold its key federal funds interest rate steady at 1.25 pc. The federal funds rate remains effectively at its lowest since July 1961, when it was 1.17 pc. The decision to hold rates steady was in line with Wall Street economists' expectations. This is the fourth straight meeting at which the Fed has kept rates unchanged.
Its Federal Open Market Committee, which took the decision, said the risks to the economy are weighted towards weakness over the foreseeable future. Last month, the FOMC suspended its use of the bias citing the uncertainty generated by the war in Iraq. The FOMC said that it now believes that over the next few quarters the upside and downside risks facing the economy "are roughly equal". ///www.fxcentre.com