Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in April suggests that the pace of economic contraction is slowing. Conditions in financial markets have generally improved in recent months. Household spending has shown further signs of stabilizing but remains constrained by ongoing job losses, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Businesses are cutting back on fixed investment and staffing but appear to be making progress in bringing inventory stocks into better alignment with sales. Although economic activity is likely to remain weak for a time, the Committee continues to anticipate that policy actions to stabilize financial markets and institutions, fiscal and monetary stimulus, and market forces will contribute to a gradual resumption of sustainable economic growth in a context of price stability.
The prices of energy and other commodities have risen of late. However, substantial resource slack is likely to dampen cost pressures, and the Committee expects that inflation will remain subdued for some time.
In these circumstances, the Federal Reserve will employ all available tools to promote economic recovery and to preserve price stability. The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. As previously announced, to provide support to mortgage lending and housing markets and to improve overall conditions in private credit markets, the Federal Reserve will purchase a total of up to $1.25 trillion of agency mortgage-backed securities and up to $200 billion of agency debt by the end of the year. In addition, the Federal Reserve will buy up to $300 billion of Treasury securities by autumn. The Committee will continue to evaluate the timing and overall amounts of its purchases of securities in light of the evolving economic outlook and conditions in financial markets. The Federal Reserve is monitoring the size and composition of its balance sheet and will make adjustments to its credit and liquidity programs as warranted.
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此次聲明, 符合市場事前的大部份預期, 主要內容摘譯如下:
- 經濟衰退步伐減緩，金融市場近幾個月來亦較過去逐漸改善，但整體經濟仍較弱。房市雖趨穩，但仍受到失業率增加及信用緊縮的影響。然政府的各項政策將能使得經濟及金融市場逐步邁向成長。
- 與上次聲明最大的不同在於對通膨的看法，上次會議警告，嚴重衰退可能引發通縮。本次聲明提到，雖然近期能源及原物料價格上漲，但經濟的衰退價格上揚不易，故對通貨膨脹難成威脅。因而預期通膨將會「受到抑制」持續一段期間，故將聯邦利率維持於0~0.25%，且將維持極低水平「相當一段時間」。表明壓低利率的決心及回應市場對通膨的隱憂。
- 繼續購買債券，以壓低房貸與消費者貸款利率；持續執行今年3月所規劃的在年底前購買1.25兆美元房利美、房地美房貸債券; 和2000億美元機構債; 並在秋季前收購3000億美元長期公債都將繼續。 但這些行動也將因經濟狀況改變而進行調整。
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