Recent Updates
- China: Fixed Asset Investment, Online Retail Sales, IP (Apr)
- Construction PMIs - Ireland (Apr)
- Japan: Corporate Goods Price Index (Apr)
- New Zealand: Composite PMI, Performance of Service Index (Apr)
- Hong Kong: Centaline Property Affordability Ratio (Apr)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
EMU IP Drops Month-to-Month and Year-over-Year
Industrial output among EMU members fell by 1.8% month-to-month in March...
U.S. Producer Price Inflation Moderates in April
The Producer Price Index for Final Demand increased 0.5% during April...
U.S. Housing Affordability Plunges in March
Affordable homes are in short supply...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Edge Upward
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended May 7 rose to 203,000 (-58.9% y/y)...
U.K. Shows Scatter-Shot IP Trends
Industrial output in the United Kingdom is mixed and convoluted...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller March 16, 2020
The Federal Reserve lowered the target for the Fed Funds rate by 100 basis points to a range of 0.00% to 0.25%.
In the Fed's press release, it stated "The coronavirus outbreak has harmed communities and disrupted economic activity in many countries, including the United States."
Additionally, the Fed launched a $700 billion quantitative easing program designed to add further liquidity to the economy.
"Voting for the monetary policy action were Jerome H. Powell, Chair; John C. Williams, Vice Chair; Michelle W. Bowman; Lael Brainard; Richard H. Clarida; Patrick Harker; Robert S. Kaplan; Neel Kashkari; and Randal K. Quarles. Voting against this action was Loretta J. Mester, who was fully supportive of all of the actions taken to promote the smooth functioning of markets and the flow of credit to households and businesses but preferred to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/2 to 3/4 percent at this meeting."
Current | Last | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Federal Funds Rate Target | 0.0% - 0.25% | 1.00% -1.25% | 2.16% | 1.83% | 1.00% | 0.40 |