As widely expected,... the U.S. Federal Reserve has left its benchmark interest rate unchanged.
Analysts say the move signals the Fed will keep raising rates gradually as the U.S. economy continues to perform well.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
The Federal Reserve is taking it slow and steady,... standing pat on interest rates,... for now at least.
The rate will remain in the two to two-and-a-quarter percent range, but the Fed is signaling it will continue to raise rates gradually amid stable economic growth in the U.S.
In its policy statement released on Thursday,... the Fed acknowledged the strength of consumer spending was behind the strongest economic growth in four years in the second and third quarter.
With borrowing costs unchanged this month,... traders are fairly sure the Fed will raise rates in December.
Experts say the decision will immediately lift borrowing costs for Americans with credit cards and other short-term loans.
According to data compiled by Bloomberg,... the market has priced in a 79-percent probability that the Fed will raise rates to a range of two-and-a-quarter to two-and-a-half percent next month.
At the pace the Fed is moving,... the rate will reach about three percent by the middle of next year... a level the Fed regards as neutral, meaning it would neither stimulate nor discourage economic activity.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.
