U.S. Fed keeps benchmark interest rate unchanged near zero

미 연준, 제로금리 유지... "경제회복 중이지만 연초수준 못 미쳐"As widely expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged near zero following a two-day policy meeting.Keeping its rates anchored between zero to a quarter-percentage point, the Fed also explained in a statement that it will keep buying government bonds until the economy makes "substantial" progress.The U.S. central bank has kept its key rate unchanged since March when it took a range of extraordinary steps to fight the economic recession stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic by keeping credit flowing.