BEIJING, May 2 (Xinhuanet) -- The US Federal Reserve has announced that it will keep the short-term interest rate near zero and continue its assets purchase program to bolster economic growth and job creation.

In its statement, the Fed maintained its plan to keep short-term interest rates between zero and 0.25. The rate will be kept at least until unemployment falls to 6.5 percent from its current 7.6 percent. It says it will continue to buy $85 billion a month in bonds to try to keep long-term borrowing costs down.

The Fed says after a two-day policy meeting that the job market has shown some improvement in recent months. It notes that unemployment remains high and that government budget policies have begun to restrain economic growth.

(Source: CNTV.cn)