MACRO-- The Shock is Far from Over

摘要

The Federal Open Market Committee stated that "the path of the economy will depend significantly on the course of the virus,"—whilst not exactly groundbreaking, it remains a fundamental point. The committee ruled to keep interest rates unchanged at close to zero. The US suffered its sharpest slump in post-war history in the second quarter, with GDP shrinking at an annualised rate of 32.9%, down 9.5% from the previous quarter. Fed Chairman Jay Powell called on Congress to maintain fiscal support to cushion the impact of the pandemic as infections continue to rise, citing weaker credit and debit card spending and some measures of unemployment at the end of June. Congress has already appropriated nearly US$3tn in relief, and talks are ongoing over extra unemployment assistance—the US$600/week benefit expired on July 31 after being introduced in March. Non-farm private employers added 167,000 jobs in July, according to payroll processor ADP, compared to 4.314m in June.