Jerome Powell, head of the US Federal Reserve, following a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), said that it is too early to talk about raising the base interest rate. Moreover, it is necessary to carefully choose the moment for its lifting. The FOMC kept the federal funds rate in the range from 0% to 0.25% per annum, and also announced that it would reduce the volume of asset repurchases in November by $15 billion and continue reducing the program in December. The program is scheduled to be completed by mid-2022. Powell stressed that even with a decrease in the monthly volume of asset repurchases, the Central Bank's policy will continue to provide significant support to the US economy. Speaking about inflation, Powell noted that the current dynamics of consumer prices in the United States does not correspond to the concept of price stability. At the same time, he remains confident that the increase in inflation is a temporary phenomenon caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The head of the Fed also said that the current unemployment rate does not match the estimates of the employment recovery. In his opinion, maximum employment in the US economy can be achieved only by the second half of 2022.
