Fed keeps rates on hold
Policy makers leave fed funds rate at 6.5%, discount rate at 6%
June 28, 2000: 2:17 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Federal Reserve opted to hold the line on interest rates Wednesday, a signal that policy makers believe their efforts to slow U.S. economic growth are working -- for now.
The Federal Open Market Committee left its influential fed funds target for overnight loans between banks at 6.5 percent. It also left the discount rate -- the rate at which the Fed's 12 district banks lend directly to financial institutions -- at 6 percent.
The Fed action was widely anticipated.
In the usual, briefly worded statement that the central bank releases with its rate decisions, the FOMC said that "continuing rapid advances in productivity have been containing costs and holding down underlying price pressures."
At the same time, the FOMC said it "believes the risks continue to be weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate heightened inflation pressures in the foreseeable future."
For consumers, the Fed's decision means they'll get a reprieve from rates on credit cards and loans that have been steadily on the rise in the past year. The Fed has raised rates six times since June 1999 in the hopes of making consumers think twice about charging that expensive meal or buying that new notebook computer. The same goes for companies, whose borrowing costs, for the moment, will remain the same.
Policy makers leave fed funds rate at 6.5%, discount rate at 6%
June 28, 2000: 2:17 p.m. ET
NEW YORK (CNNfn) - The Federal Reserve opted to hold the line on interest rates Wednesday, a signal that policy makers believe their efforts to slow U.S. economic growth are working -- for now.
The Federal Open Market Committee left its influential fed funds target for overnight loans between banks at 6.5 percent. It also left the discount rate -- the rate at which the Fed's 12 district banks lend directly to financial institutions -- at 6 percent.
The Fed action was widely anticipated.
In the usual, briefly worded statement that the central bank releases with its rate decisions, the FOMC said that "continuing rapid advances in productivity have been containing costs and holding down underlying price pressures."
At the same time, the FOMC said it "believes the risks continue to be weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate heightened inflation pressures in the foreseeable future."
For consumers, the Fed's decision means they'll get a reprieve from rates on credit cards and loans that have been steadily on the rise in the past year. The Fed has raised rates six times since June 1999 in the hopes of making consumers think twice about charging that expensive meal or buying that new notebook computer. The same goes for companies, whose borrowing costs, for the moment, will remain the same.
