美国央行提高利率四分之一厘

AS IT IS 2015-12-18 US Central Bank Raises Its Interest Rates 美国央行提高利率四分之一厘

The United States central bank has raised an important interest rate by one-fourth of 1 percent.

The move may have been small, but it marks the first time since late 2008 that the Federal Reserve has raised important interest rates that it controls. The federal funds rate, a rate paid by banks for short-term loans, is now one-half of 1 percent.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee decides monetary¹ policy for the U.S. The committee announced the change Wednesday in a statement on economic policy.  It had met for two days in Washington.

Janet Yellen, the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve System, spoke² after the announcement.

The committee’s decision was based on a few factors, Yellen said. Economic growth is expected to continue in the U.S. Another reason to increase interest rates, Yellen noted³, was the low official rate of inflation. The central bank has said its target inflation rate is 2 percent. It says that rate would help support employment and keep prices stable. However, inflation currently is not at the target rate, but below 1 percent.

The high exchange value of the dollar has also kept inflation low, Yellen said. The strong dollar means the prices of imported products remain low.

The federal reserve chief also said the strong labor⁴ market provided another reason to raise rates. The U.S. economy is adding about 200,000 jobs each month.

Yellen described the path to higher interest rates as normalization⁵. The central bank’s interest rates are well below historical averages.

The Federal Reserve, or Fed, also released its expectation for some important economic numbers. The fed expects its federal funds rate to reach between 2 percent and 4 percent by 2018.

Yellen was asked if the Fed may have moved too soon in increasing interest rates. She answered that the central bank had weighed many risks and had made a small move.

She said, “The Fed’s decision today reflects our confidence in the U.S. economy.”

The central bank has kept the interest rates it controls at nearly zero to support lending and economic activity. Financial policymakers considered this necessary as the country recovered from the “Great Recession” from 2007 to 2009.

During that period, home prices dropped sharply and unemployment jumped in the worst financial crisis since the 1930s.

Words in the Story

factors – n. something that helps to produce or influence a result

monetary – adj. relating to money policy in a country’s economy

normalization – n. the process of bringing something back to historical norms

1 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 normalization   

n.（normalisation）正常化，标准化

参考例句：

• The visit signalled the normalization of relations between the two countries.这次访问显示两国关系已经正常化。
• He was pleased to the normalization of relationship between the police and the people.他很高兴警方和人民之间关系的正常化。