VOA常速英语2105--IMF敦促美国推迟加息至2016

IMF敦促美国推迟加息至2016

The International Monetary¹ Fund is urging the U.S. central bank to delay its planned interest rate hike until 2016. Although the IMF says the underpinnings for continued growth are still in place, IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde says recent data suggest U.S. growth is likely to remain subpar. Her comments reflect new concerns about the world's largest economy, which shrank 0.7 percent in the first three months of the year.

国际货币基金组织敦促美国央行将原计划的加息延迟到2016年，尽管IMF称继续增长的基础仍在，其总裁克里斯汀娜·拉加德称最近的数据表明美国增长可能仍欠佳。她的言论表明人们对世界最大经济体的新的担忧，今年第一季度美国经济萎缩了0.7%。

Earlier optimism about the U.S. economy has faded a bit, after new data showed momentum² slowing between January and March – the result of a harsh winter and a stronger U.S. dollar that has made U.S. goods more expensive abroad.

之前对美国经济的乐观情绪有所减退，这是因为有最新数据表明1月份到3月份之间增长势头减缓，这是因为严冬和强势美元使得美国商品在海外变得更贵。

IMF chief Christine Lagarde says raising U.S. rates too soon could result in significant market volatility³ around the world.

IMF总裁克里斯汀娜·拉加德称，美国过早加息会导致全球范围内巨大的市场动荡。

“In weighing this risk, we think that there is a case for waiting to raise rates until there are more tangible⁴ signs of wage or price inflation than are currently evident. So, in other words, we believe that a rate hike would be better off in early 2016," said Lagarde.

“就衡量风险来说，我想我们有理由等到有更切实的迹象表明工资或价格上涨比目前更明显的时候再加息，也就是说，我们认为在2016年初加息比较好。”

Buoyed⁵ by a steady improvement in the labor⁶ market, the central bank had signaled a modest rate hike by the middle of the year, its first in nearly nine years. But the contraction⁷ in the first quarter and a slowdown in spending suggest consumers remain wary⁸. Consumer spending rose only 1.8 percent in the first three months of 2015 – a surprisingly modest increase given the more than five percent jump in disposable income, says Federal Reserve board member Lael Brainard.

受到劳工市场平稳好转的鼓励，央行发出信号，表示会在今年年中温和加息，这是近9年来的第一次。但第一季度的收缩和开支减少表明消费者仍很警惕。2015年第一季度消费者开支只增长了1.8%，与可支配收入5%的增长相比，这个增速不温不火，这一点令人吃惊，美联储董事会成员莱尔·布瑞拉德如是说。

“Continuing softness in consumption this year would naturally raise some questions about whether there’s a more persistent⁹ change afoot – in particular, whether the financial crisis may have caused consumers to be more cautious about spending gains in income and wealth that are perceived to be temporary," said Brainard.

“今年消费不振的继续自然让人们质疑是否会发生持续的改变，尤其是，金融危机是否已经导致消费者在开支方面更加谨慎，是否人们收入和财富的增加是暂时的。”

But others believe the U.S. slowdown was an aberration¹⁰. Ethan Harris, head of global economics research at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, expects a rate hike in September.

但也有人认为美国增长的放缓是反常的，美洲银行全球经济研究负责人伊桑·哈里森预测9月份会加息。

“Relative to where we were say a few years ago, the banking¹¹ sector¹² is in much better health, the housing market’s improving, we don’t have any major fiscal¹³ shocks going on right now, we don’t have a fiscal cliff looming¹⁴, we don’t have a shutdown looming in Washington, so you kind of take a better backdrop for the economy in terms of healing," said Harris.

“与几年前相比，银行业发展比较健康，房屋市场也在好转，目前并没有发生重大的财政动荡，也没有财政悬崖出现，华盛顿也没有要关门，所以在经济复苏方面我们的处境不错。”

 

A new survey of the American Bankers Association's top economists¹⁵ predicts a rebound¹⁶ in the second half of the year, but the IMF has downgraded its forecast for U.S. economic growth from 3.1 percent to 2.5 percent in 2015.

美国银行家协会对高级经济学家的最新调查预测今年下半年会发生回弹，但IMF已经将美国2015年的经济发展预测从3.1%调低到2.5%。

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 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

3 volatility   

n.挥发性，挥发度，轻快，（性格）反复无常

参考例句：

• That was one reason why volatility was so low last year.这也是去年波动性如此低的原因之一。
• Yet because volatility remained low for so long,disaster myopia prevailed.然而，由于相当长的时间里波动性小，灾难短视就获胜了。

4 tangible   

adj.有形的，可触摸的，确凿的，实际的

参考例句：

• The policy has not yet brought any tangible benefits.这项政策还没有带来任何实质性的好处。
• There is no tangible proof.没有确凿的证据。

5 buoyed   

v.使浮起( buoy的过去式和过去分词 )；支持；为…设浮标；振奋…的精神

参考例句：

• Buoyed by their win yesterday the team feel confident of further success. 在昨天胜利的鼓舞下，该队有信心再次获胜。
• His encouragement buoyed her up during that difficult period. 他的鼓励使她在那段困难时期恢复了乐观的情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 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。

7 contraction   

n.缩略词，缩写式，害病

参考例句：

• The contraction of this muscle raises the lower arm.肌肉的收缩使前臂抬起。
• The forces of expansion are balanced by forces of contraction.扩张力和收缩力相互平衡。

8 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

9 persistent   

adj.坚持不懈的，执意的；持续的

参考例句：

• Albert had a persistent headache that lasted for three days.艾伯特连续头痛了三天。
• She felt embarrassed by his persistent attentions.他不时地向她大献殷勤，使她很难为情。

10 aberration   

n.离开正路，脱离常规，色差

参考例句：

• The removal of the chromatic aberration is then of primary importance.这时消除色差具有头等重要性。
• Owing to a strange mental aberration he forgot his own name.由于一种莫名的精神错乱，他把自己的名字忘了。

11 banking   

n.银行业，银行学，金融业

参考例句：

• John is launching his son on a career in banking.约翰打算让儿子在银行界谋一个新职位。
• He possesses an extensive knowledge of banking.他具有广博的银行业务知识。

12 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

13 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

14 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

15 economists   

n.经济学家，经济专家( economist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The sudden rise in share prices has confounded economists. 股价的突然上涨使经济学家大惑不解。
• Foreign bankers and economists cautiously welcomed the minister's initiative. 外国银行家和经济学家对部长的倡议反应谨慎。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 rebound   

v.弹回；n.弹回，跳回

参考例句：

• The vibrations accompanying the rebound are the earth quake.伴随这种回弹的振动就是地震。
• Our evil example will rebound upon ourselves.我们的坏榜样会回到我们自己头上的。