國內經濟增長放緩 美聯儲宣佈不加息

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday even as it said that labor market conditions were improving and inflation had picked up.

華盛頓——週三，儘管美聯儲(Federal Reserve)稱勞動力市場正在改善、通貨膨脹有所加強，但該機構仍決定保持基準利率不變。

As expected, the Fed held steady on interest rates after a two-day meeting of its policymaking committee, noting that domestic economic growth had slowed. But the central bank appears on course to increase rates later this year.

不出所料，在其政策制定委員會舉行了一場爲期兩天的會議後，美聯儲決定保持利率不變，並指出美國國內經濟增長出現了減緩現象。不過，作爲美國央行，美聯儲似乎準備在今年晚些時候加息。

“Labor market conditions have improved further even as growth in economic activity appears to have slowed,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement after the meeting.

“儘管經濟活力的增加看來有所放緩，但勞動力市場的情況有了進一步的改善，”聯邦公開市場委員會(Federal Open Market Committee)在會後的聲明中稱。

When the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate in December, for the first time since the financial crisis, it said it was beginning a march toward higher rates. But the central bank has yet to take a second step.

去年12月，美聯儲在本輪金融危機後首次提高基準利率。當時，美聯儲表示自己開始走上加息的道路。但迄今爲止，該機構尚未邁出第二步。

The April meeting represents the Fed’s third consecutive decision to stay put. The benchmark rate remains in a range of 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent, and borrowing costs for businesses and consumers have barely climbed.

今年4月的會議代表着美聯儲連續第三次決定保持利率不變。基準利率仍保持在0.25%到0.5%的區間，企業和消費者借貸的成本幾乎未有增加。

This time, the Fed pointed to several areas of weakness in the domestic economy. It said household spending had “moderated,” and business investment and export activity remained “soft.”

這一次，美聯儲指出了美國國內經濟的幾個薄弱環節，稱家庭支出“逐漸平淡”，企業投資和出口活躍程度依然“疲軟”。

But those sour notes were tempered. The Fed noted that household income continued to rise and that consumer sentiment remained positive. Housing construction is increasing and, most important, the statement underlined continued strength of job creation.

不過，這些不良信號均遭淡化。美聯儲指出，家庭收入持續上漲，消費者情緒保持積極。住宅建設正在增加，而且最重要的是，聲明強調了創造就業的強勁勢頭。

“A range of recent indicators, including strong job gains, points to additional strengthening of the labor market,” the statement said.

“最近的一系列指標，包括就業崗位增長勢頭強勁，證明勞動力市場進一步增強，”聲明中稱。

The statement also suggested that the Fed’s concerns about global economic weakness had diminished. The Fed’s last statement, in March, described global conditions as a headwind for domestic growth. The April statement said merely that the Fed continued to monitor global economic and financial developments.

文中還表明，美聯儲對全球經濟疲軟的擔憂有所減少。美聯儲在3月發表的上一份聲明稱，全球的狀況不利於美國的增長。而4月的聲明僅表示，美聯儲會繼續觀察全球經濟和金融發展。

The statement also said that “inflation picked up in recent months,” although it noted that inflation remained below the Fed’s 2 percent annual target, and inflation expectations remained weak.

聲明還稱，“最近幾個月，通貨膨脹的情況有好轉跡象”，但也指出通脹率依然低於美聯儲制訂的2%年度目標，且通脹預期持續走低。