Fed Shows Confidence in U.S. Recovery

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday ended its monthly bond purchase program and dropped a characterization of U.S. labor market slack as “significant” in a show of confidence in the economy’s prospects.  In a statement after a two-day meeting, the central bank largely dismissed recent financial market volatility, dimming growth in Europe and a weak inflation outlook as unlikely to undercut progress toward its unemployment and inflation goals.

“On balance, a range of labor market indicators suggests that underutilization of labor resources is gradually diminishing,” the Fed’s policy panel said in an important departure from prior statements, which had described the slack as “significant.”  “The committee continues to see sufficient underlying strength in the broader economy,” it said.

U.S. stocks added to earlier losses after the statement but came back to close down only marginally, while the yield on the 5-year U.S. Treasury note jumped, putting it on track for its biggest one-day increase since mid-March. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note was little changed.  The dollar rose to a three-week high against a broad basket of currencies as traders pulled forward expectations of when the Fed would eventually raise interest rates.

Reuters

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