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WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged amid uncertainty about market reactions to the outcome of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 8.
"The Committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has continued to strengthen but decided, for the time being, to wait for some further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives," the Fed's policy-making committee said in a statement released after its two-day meeting.
In December last year, the Fed raised its target range for the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 0.25-0.5 percent, the first rate hike in nearly a decade.
However, a slowdown in global economy since the start of this year and other global financial risks have made Fed policymakers cautious and hold off on any further rate hikes.
Market participants had widely expected that the Fed would keep interest rates unchanged at its November policy meeting, just days before the U.S. election.
A majority of analysts said that's because the Fed didn't want to influence the outcome of the election either way, rather than to help either candidate, according to the CNBC Fed Survey released on Tuesday. Other analysts said that's because markets were unprepared for an interest rate hike. Enditem
