Federal Reserve Pledges To Use All Tools To Help Economy

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Federal Reserve says the economy has weakened further and signaled it will keep a key interest rate near zero for quite “some time” to cushion the fallout.

The Fed agreed - with one dissent - to keep the targeted range for the federal funds rate at a record low of between zero and 0.25 percent. The funds rate is the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans.

Economists predict the Fed will leave rates at that range through the rest of this year.

Having taken the unprecedented step of slashing its key rate to near zero at its previous meeting in December, the central bank pledged anew to look to other unconventional ways to revive the economy.