The US Federal Reserve cut is benchmark rate by a 1.00% to near zero and will boost its bond holdings by USD$700 billion
Key points in their statement are:Fed cuts interest rates to near zero in response to coronavirus crisis, risks to economic outlookFed says expects target interest rate will remain in range of 0 and 0.25% until economy has "weathered recent events"
and is on track to meet inflation and employment goalsFed says crisis has "harmed communities and disrupted economic activity" in U.S. And other countries, will weigh on
activity in the near termFed says will use "full range of tools" to support economy, will expand holdings of treasury securities by $500 bln and
mortgage backed securities by $200 bln in coming monthsVote on policy action was 9 to 1Federal reserve cuts rates to near zeroFed announces coordinated action with bank of Canada, Bank of England, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Swiss
National BankFed says six global central banks have agreed to lower pricing on U.S. Dollar liquidity swap arrangements by 25 bpsFed and other global central banks will begin offering U.S. Dollar liquidity in each jurisdiction with 84-day maturityFederal reserve says it will lower the primary credit rate by 150 basis points to 0.25 percent, effective march 16Fed says it supports firms that choose to use their capital and liquidity buffers to lend and undertake other supportive
actions in a safe and sound mannerFed says that depository institutions may borrow from the discount window for periods as long as 90 days, prepayable and
renewable by the borrower on a daily basisFed says reducing reserve requirement ratios to zero percent effective on March 26Fed says encourages depository institutions to utilize intraday credit extended by reserve banks, on both a
collateralized and uncollateralized basis
The NZD is higher in immediate response in skitterish trading.Current indicative levels are:NZDUSD 0.6065 / 0.6090NZDEUR 0.5435 / 0.5465NZDGBP 0.4905 / 0.4940NZDJPY 64.60 / 65.10NZDAUD 0.9705 / 0.9740