The Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that it would leave interest rates unchanged, and that economic activity would remain weak for “some time” before growth resumes.
It maintained that it was moving ahead with its $300bn Treasury purchase plan and said that it would “continue to evaluate the timing and overall amounts of its purchases of securities”. It made no changes to its previously announced plans for the total volume of purchases or for timing.
There were few surprises for the markets in the announcement and the initial response in foreign exchange and bonds was relatively muted. The stock and bond markets both sold off soon after the Fed's announcement.