The U.S. Federal Reserve has paved the way to raise its key interest rate, but made it clear that it will move forward with caution.
The Fed has also cut its growth outlook... on slowing spending, a drop in exports... and most importantly -- low inflation.
Song Ji-sun has the details.
As widely expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve opened the door for a possible rate hike sometime this year,... removing the word "patience" from its policy statement.
But Fed Chair Janet Yellen stressed the need for policymakers to consider the country's still fragile economic growth prospects.
"Today's modification of our guidance should not be interpreted to mean that we have decided on the timing of that increase. In other words, just because we removed the word 'patient' from the statement doesn't mean we're going to be impatient."
The U.S. central bank slashed both its growth outlook and inflation forecast for this year,... saying inflation would move below its 2-percent target, largely due to falling energy prices... and a decrease in spending.
Yellen also noted that exports have weakened partly due to the strong dollar,... but said that also reflects the strength of the U.S. economy.
This hints that the Fed will NOT rush into a rate hike,... as that would lead to a stronger dollar and dent its outbound shipments.
Seoul's central bank convened an emergency meeting Thursday morning to discuss the impact of the Fed statement and prepare countermeasures.
The market consensus is that the impact on Seoul will be limited... and fluctuations in the global financial market will be more contained, as the Fed stressed a more cautious approach in light of the impact of its stronger dollar.
Song Ji-sun, Arirang News.