the head of the Federal reserve system (FRS) Jerome Powell said at a press conference on Wednesday, April 29, about the unprecedented fall in economic activity in the second quarter. His words leads TASS.
“the Decisive action we as a country take in order to take control the spread of coronavirus, led to a sudden stop to most of the economy. Overall economic activity in the second quarter will probably decline to an unprecedented level,” he said. The fed chief urged to support the US economy, and not solve the problem of the national debt, which is more than 24 trillion dollars.
on 29 April, the fed kept its benchmark rate at 0-0,25% per annum. Powell noted that the rate reduction will not be able to stop the sharp decline in economic activity in the United States caused by the closure of enterprises in connection with the pandemic of the novel coronavirus.
“We are committed to use all our tools to support the economy in these difficult times. Last month we lowered the rate to almost zero. We said then and said again today that we are expected to will maintain the rate at this level until we are confident that the economy has weathered recent events, and is on track to achieve our goals of maximum employment and price stability,” said Powell.
the fed chief also said that the United States cannot provide loans to insolvent companies. Reporters asked how the fed assesses the risks of providing loans to companies that cannot repay loans due to the effects of the epidemic of the coronavirus. “We have been using their credit powers to an unprecedented degree. Gave them to us Congress, and we can’t lend to insolvent companies,” said Powell.
currently, the U.S. ranks first in the number of cases COVID-19. The fed had earlier announced new measures to stimulate the national economy in the framework of the fight against coronavirus. Their total volume is 2.3 trillion dollars.
