The US Federal Reserve yesterday slashed interest rates from 1 per cent to a new range of 0-0.25 per cent.
The rate cut – which pushes the fed funds rate to its lowest level since the Fed started targeting it – was larger than most economists had expected. It could present problems for money market funds and for the repo market which has technical difficulties operating near zero rates. With the actual federal funds rate consistently trading below the target rate, the actual fed funds is likely to be near zero in the months ahead.
The move came as deflation fears were intensified with the release of new figures showed the biggest monthly drop in US prices on record in November, with no increase in core prices excluding energy and food.
It also coincided with a warning from Barack Obama, president-elect, that the government would have to implement aggressive fiscal policies as the Fed ran out of room to reduce rates.
“We are running out of the traditional ammunition that's used in a recession, which is to lower interest rates. They're getting to be about as low as they can go,” he said. “And although the Fed is still going to have more tools available to it, it is critical that the other branches of government step up.”
The consumer price index fell 1.7 per cent during the month, with the annual rate of inflation falling sharply from 3.8 per cent to 1.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, the number of US housing starts plummeted, raising new concerns about residential investment and construction jobs, though also raising some hope of a decline in the excess supply of new homes.
译文:
美联储降息至新低区间
美联储昨天降息1个百分点，新利率调整后为0-0.25%。
此次利率降幅比经济学家预期要大，使得联邦基金利率降至自美联储监管以来的最低点。这给货币市场基金和货币回购市场提出挑战，其中货币回购市场要在接近零利率的水平运作，存在技术性困难。由于实际联邦基金率交易一直低于基准利率，因此实际联邦基金率有望在未来几个月内接近零利率水平。
此次利率调使得通货紧缩带来的恐慌情绪加剧，新公布数据显示11月美国物价创纪录经历了最大月跌幅，核心物价水平维持不变，其中不包括能源和食品价格。
与此同时，美国当选总统巴拉克·奥巴马警告说，由于美联储已没有空间再下调利率，美国政府不得不采取强硬的财政政策。
奥巴马说：“面对经济衰退，传统的降息应对方法已经没有办法再使用了。美联储尽所能降息至最低点。虽然美联储仍在想其他可行的办法，但政府其他部门及时采取行动也十分重要。”
该月CPI指数下降1.7%，年通胀率从3.8%跌至1.1%。
与此同时，美国住宅开工数量急剧下降，引发对房地产投资和建筑就业业岗位新的担忧，新建房地产供给过剩则有望缓解。