VOA慢速英语--美国第三次加息或造成重大影响

US Move to Raise Interest Rates Could Have a Big Effect

The United States central bank raised its main interest rate Wednesday for the third time this year. The rate increase could affect not only the U.S. economy, but economies around the world.

Experts say the move could mark the end of what has been called the central bank’s “accommodative¹” policy. That monetary² policy was put in place after the international financial crisis³ 10 years ago. With it, bank officials sought to fuel economic growth through low interest rates and big loans.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Reserve Bank raised its federal funds rate to between two and 2.25 percent. Big, private banks pay this rate for short-term loans from the Federal Reserve, but it affects many other kinds of loans.

Economic measures remain strong

Observers note that almost all important measures of the U.S. economy are strong. From April to June, the economy grew at a faster-than-expected rate of 4.2 percent. Nationwide, unemployment remains⁴ near a record low of 3.9 percent. And consumer confidence measures, which show Americans’ willingness to spend, have reached their highest level in 18 years.

Low unemployment means the country has a shortage⁵ of workers and pay is likely to increase.

The Associated Press reports that Federal Reserve policymakers believe wages will increase in the coming months. That will put pressure on the group that controls the U.S. monetary policy, the Open Market Committee. The committee might feel pressure to raise interest rates to reduce the risk of high inflation⁶.

Raising interest rates makes borrowing more costly⁷. This usually slows economic growth. But it can also increase the value of U.S. money on foreign exchange markets.

The strength of the American economy has already caused the value of the U.S. dollar to rise in other areas.

That could hurt countries like Turkey.

This month, the Turkish central bank increased its main interest rate by more than six percent in an effort to stop the fall in value of Turkey’s currency, the lira.

But the lira has lost nearly 40 percent of its exchange value against the dollar this year.

Argentina, South Africa and Indonesia are just some of the other countries facing big drops in their currencies.

Effects of the U.S.-China trade dispute

Adding to these concerns is the trade dispute between the United States and China. On Monday, the U.S. government enacted⁸ import tariffs⁹ on $200 billion in Chinese goods. China has answered by announcing new taxes on $60 billion in American goods. Trade talks set for October have been cancelled.

Officials at the Asian Development Bank, based in Manilla, do not believe the trade dispute will affect growth in East Asia this year. But the bank predicts growth will fall from 6 percent to 5.8 percent in 2019.

The bank also predicts that the trade dispute could reduce China’s economic growth by .5 percent and U.S. growth by .1 percent.

I’m Susan Shand.

Words in This Story

accommodative – adj. providing what is needed or wanted

monetary – adj. related to the money in a country’s economy

consumer – n. a person who buys goods and services

1 accommodative   

adj.乐于助人的，随和的，善于适应新环境的

参考例句：

• We should arrange accommodative time to play a computer. 我们应该安排适应的时间玩电脑。 来自互联网
• Types of esotropia include infantile esotropia, accommodative esotropia, and sixth nerve palsy. 内斜视的类型包括小儿内斜视、调节性内斜视和第六脑神经麻痹性斜视。 来自互联网

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

4 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

5 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

6 inflation   

n.胀大，夸张，通货膨胀

参考例句：

• Gold prices are often seen as an indicator of inflation.黃金价格常常被看作是通货膨胀的指标。
• The inflation of the airbed took several minutes.给空气床垫充气花了几分钟时间。

7 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

8 enacted   

制定（法律），通过（法案）( enact的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• legislation enacted by parliament 由议会通过的法律
• Outside in the little lobby another scene was begin enacted. 外面的小休息室里又是另一番景象。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

9 tariffs   

关税制度； 关税( tariff的名词复数 )； 关税表； （旅馆或饭店等的）收费表； 量刑标准

参考例句：

• British industry was sheltered from foreign competition by protective tariffs. 保护性关税使英国工业免受国际竞争影响。
• The new tariffs have put a stranglehold on trade. 新的关税制对开展贸易极为不利。