Economics
Fed to Debate Dimming Outlook as Virus Surges, Fiscal Help Hangs
- New outbreak has taken hold since policy committee last met
- Central bank to debate strategy shift as Congress works on aid
People wait in their cars at a newly opened mega drive-thru testing site in El Paso, Texas, July 21.
Photographer: Cengiz Yar/Getty Images
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For Federal Reserve officials, as for many others, it’s been a long six weeks.
Setbacks in the fight against the coronavirus will push Fed Chair Jerome Powell to reinforce his dovish message this week that interest rates will stay near zero for a long while. That said, policy makers probably won’t adopt a shift in strategy at their July 28-29 meeting, even as they review how the outlook has changed.