Fed keeps key rate at zero, projects 6.5% decline in US GDP this year

The pledge to keep monetary policy loose until the US economy is back on track repeats a promise made early in the central bank's response to the coronavirus pandemic

The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday repeated its promise of continued extraordinary support for the economy as policymakers projected a 6.5 per cent decline in gross domestic product this year and a 9.3 per cent unemployment rate at year's end.
 

"The ongoing public health crisis will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment and inflation in the near term and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term," the Fed said in its latest policy statement. The first policymaker economic projections since December see the overnight interest rate remaining near zero through at least 2022.
 

Though much of