US Federal Reserve keeps interest rate unchanged

The Federal Open Market Committee's (FOMC) 11 members voted unanimously on Wednesday to keep the Federal Reserve's benchmark interest rate unchanged between the 0.00% - 0.25% range.

The FOMC removed from a previous statement that "progress on vaccinations has reduced the spread of COVID-19 in the US." It was used at the Fed's last meeting on June 16.

It now instead, said, "with progress on vaccinations and strong policy support, indicators of economic activity and employment have continued to strengthen."

The central bank also acknowledged that the sectors most adversely affected by the pandemic have shown improvement but they have not fully recovered.

The Fed reiterated that it will allow inflation to run above 2% for some time until labor market conditions improve and maximum employment is achieved.

It also noted it will continue its asset purchase program to relieve the world's largest economy, in which it buys at least $120 billion of bonds every month.

The FOMC said it will continue to assess the outlook of the economy and the program in coming meetings "until substantial further progress has been made toward its maximum employment and price stability goals."