Recent Updates
- US: Autodata Vehicle Sales (Feb)
- New Zealand: Regional Building Consents (Jan)
- New Zealand: Building Consents (Jan)
- Australia: Performance of Construction Index (Feb)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Post Covid-19 Turbulence Rocks and Weakens German Retail Sales
German and other European retail sales have been put through a sort of test of fire in the wake of the covid-19 virus arrival...
ISM Manufacturing Index Improves in February as Prices Continue to Strengthen
Factory sector activity recovered last month following moderate weakening in January...
NABE Projects Firm Growth in 2022, as in 2021
The NABE expects 4.0% real GDP growth in 2022 following a 4.8% rise during 2021...
U.S. Construction Spending Strengthens Again in January
Building activity continues to strengthen...
Manufacturing PMIs Are Strengthening More in the Developed World
PMIs largely are improving in February...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller June 10, 2020
The Federal Reserve left the target for the Fed funds rate in a range of 0.00% to 0.25% at today's meeting of the FOMC.
In the Fed's press release, it stated, "The coronavirus outbreak is causing tremendous human and economic hardship across the United States and around the world. The virus and the measures taken to protect public health have induced sharp declines in economic activity and a surge in job losses."
"The ongoing public health crisis will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term."
"The Committee will closely monitor developments and is prepared to adjust its plans as appropriate."
The Fed also indicated it will continue to increase its bond holdings, targeting Treasury purchases at $80 billion per month and mortgage-backed securities at $40 billion.
The full statement issued following today's meeting can be found here.
Today's action was unanimously supported by Committee members.
Current | Last | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Federal Funds Rate Target | 0.0% - 0.25% | 0.0% - 0.25% | 2.16% | 1.83% | 1.00% | 0.40 |
The Fed also released updated economic projections:
2020 (Q4/Q4) | 2021 (Q4/Q4) | 2022 (Q4/Q4) | |
---|---|---|---|
Real GDP | -6.5% | 5.0% | 3.5% |
PCE Inflation | 0.8% | 1.6% | 1.7% |
Core PCE Inflation | 1.0% | 1.5% | 1.7% |
Civilian Unemployment Rate | 9.3% | 6.5% | 5.5% |