The US Federal Reserve has said that it will be “patient” ahead of moving to raise interest rates next year.
The Federal Market Open Committee (FOMC) stated that its guidance is in line with its previous statement that it will be appropriate to maintain current rates for a “considerable time”.
But analysts have interpreted the latest statement, which follows a two-day meeting of the FOMC, as suggesting that a rate rise could come in mid-2015.
The Committee, which is chaired by Janet Yellen, stated that “based on its current assessment, the Committee judges that it can be patient in beginning to normalise the stance of monetary policy”.
The FOMC noted that economic activity in the US is expanding at a “moderate pace” as labour market conditions improved following “solid” job gains and a lower unemployment rate.
Housing spending is rising moderately and business fixed income investment is advancing, the Committee concluded at its most recent meeting.
The S&P 500 is currently up 2.04 per cent to 2,012 on the news.
