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Added on the 20/04/2020 14:00:00 - Copyright : EFE Inglés
The US Federal Reserve votes to hold interest rates at a 22-year high for the third straight meeting and signaled it expects to make three cuts next year. SOUNDBITE
The US Federal Reserve holds interest rates at a 23-year high. "Today, the FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) decided to leave our policy interest rate unchanged and to continue to reduce our securities holdings," announces US Fed Chair Jerome Powell. SOUNDBITE
European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde says the institution will freeze borrowing costs again on Thursday but warns that inflation could pick up again in the near term, in an apparent pushback against market hopes of early rate cuts in 2024. It is the second time in a row the central bank has held rates, following a run of historic hikes to tame runaway price rises. SOUNDBITE
The Bank of England announces it will hold its key interest rate at 5.25 percent, a day after the Federal Reserve also froze borrowing costs as global inflation retreats. The BoE had already kept its rate steady at the central bank's previous monetary policy meeting in September, snapping a streak of 14 hikes in a row. But Governor Andrew Bailey says it is "much too early" to think about cutting rates. IMAGES
The Federal Reserve has raised the key US interest rate again and says more hikes are coming as it battles soaring prices -- an aggressive stance that has raised fears of a recession. It is the third consecutive increase of 0.75 percentage point by the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), continuing the forceful action to tamp down inflation that has surged to the highest in 40 years. SOUNDBITE