US Fed maintains key rate for sixth consecutive time

The US Federal Reserve System (Fed) kept the key rate unchanged for the sixth time - at the level of 5.25-5.5 per cent.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) seeks to achieve inflation at 2 per cent in the long term, but no progress has been recorded in this direction, Lenta.ru reports, citing the regulator's website.

The FOMC will continue to reduce holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt beginning in June, slowing the pace of reductions by lowering the monthly limit on Treasury bond redemptions from $60 billion to $25 billion. In addition, the limit on redemptions of agency debt and agency-backed mortgage-backed securities will remain at $35 billion.

The Fed last July raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points to 5.25-5.5 per cent, the highest since 2001. The rate has been at the same level since then.