As widely expected, the U.S. Federal Reserve has decided to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged near zero following a two-day policy meeting. Keeping its rates anchored between zero to a quarter-percentage point, the Fed also explained in a statement that it will keep buying government bonds until the economy makes "substantial" progress. The U.S. central bank has kept its key rate unchanged since March when it took a range of extraordinary steps to fight the economic recession stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic by keeping credit flowing.