Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell announces that the Federal Open Market Committee has decided to keep interest rates near zero for the time being. The committee also agreed to continue decreasing net asset purchases on schedule.

Video Transcript

JEROM POWELL: At the Federal Reserve, we are strongly committed to achieving the monetary policy goals that Congress has given us-- maximum employment and price stability. Today, in support of these goals, the Federal Open Market Committee kept its policy interest rate near zero. The committee also agreed to continue reducing its net asset purchases on the schedule we announced in December, bringing them to an end in early March.

Inflation remains well above our longer run goal of 2%. We understand that high inflation imposes significant hardship, especially on those least able to meet the higher costs of essentials, like food, housing, and transportation. Today, the committee issued a set of principles that will provide a foundation for our future decisions. These high level principles clarify that the federal funds rate is our primary means of adjusting monetary policy and that reducing our balance sheet will occur after the process of raising interest rates has begun.