Prices of crude oil fell by more than 3% on Sunday following a move by the United States Federal Reserve to further cut interest rates to 0%-0.25%. The Fed noted that the decision was made as a step to help in mitigating the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Jerome Powell, the chair of Fed noted, however, negative interest rates won’t be necessary saying he doesn’t believe it would appropriate policy for the US.
“The Committee expects to maintain this target range until it is confident that the economy has weathered recent events and is on track to achieve its maximum employment and price stability goals,” the Fed noted in a statement.
The US Central bank also said it is launching a $700 billion quantitative easing program to protect the economy from the COVID-19 impact.
“Over coming months the Committee will increase its holdings of Treasury securities by at least $500 billion and its holdings of agency mortgage-backed securities by at least $200 billion,” the Fed said.
