2008年3月19日 美联储降息75个基点

美联储(Fed)昨日将利率下调75个基点，至2.25%，降幅低于很多市场人士预期。这一迹象表示，美联储认为仅凭货币政策无法解决信贷危机。

The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 75 basis points to 2.25 per cent yesterday, a smaller reduction than many in the markets had expected – and a sign the central bank believes monetary policy alone will not solve the credit crisis.

美联储在政策声明中表示，“经济增长前景已经进一步减弱”，“经济下滑风险依然存在”，这为在以后的政策会议上进一步降息留下了余地。

In a statement, the US central bank said the “outlook for economic growth has weakened further” and said “downside risks remain” – leaving the door open to further rate cuts at subsequent policy meetings.

不过，美联储也明确表示，由于依然担心通胀，没有像很多投资者预期那样降息100个基点。

But the Fed also made it clear that policymakers did not cut rates by 100 basis points as many investors expected because of ongoing concerns about inflation.

美联储表示：“通货膨胀上升，一些通胀预期指标也已升高。”它表示，决策者预计通胀将有所缓和，但相信“通胀前景的不确定性增加了。”

“Inflation has been elevated and some indicators of inflation expectations have risen,” the Fed said. It said policymakers expect inflation to moderate, but believe “uncertainty about the inflation outlook has increased”.

在经历一天上涨之后，金融市场在尾盘表现出对降息幅度不及预期的失望情绪，回吐部分涨幅。

After a day of gains, markets showed their disappointment that the cut was not bigger, giving up some of their advances.

美联储此举反映出，决策者决意发出信号，表明没有忽视通货膨胀。美联储官员担心，如果降息太多，债券市场可能会“造反”，推高长期利率和抵押贷款利率。

The Fed decision reflects policymakers’ determination to signal that they are not ignoring inflation. Officials worried that if they cut rates too far, the bond market could rebel, pushing up long-term interest rates and with them mortgage rates.

近日来，美联储一直在采取积极措施，提高市场流动性供给，其中包括针对投资银行推出新的紧急融资工具。

In recent days the US central bank has taken aggressive measures to boost the supply of liquidity to markets, including a new emergency finance facility for investment banks.

昨日早些时候，美国股市和信贷市场大幅上涨，雷曼兄弟(Lehman Brothers)和高盛(Goldman Sachs)好于预期的业绩，以及对美联储大幅降息的预期，提振了投资者人气。

Earlier, stocks and credit markets rallied sharply as investors were buoyed by better-than-expected results from Lehman Brothers and Goldman Sachs and anticipated a big Fed rate cut.