US Fed likely to keep near zero rates for a few years to boost economy

Roberto Perli, a former Fed staffer and now head of global policy research at Cornerstone Macro, also expected the SEP to show that Fed officials would not want to raise rates before 2022

The US Federal Reserve is likely to provide more guidance at its policy meeting next week to signal intentions to keep interest rates near zero for a few years and help the economy get through the Covid-19 pandemic, according to economists.

"One deliverable that we should be able to count on at the June meeting is the return of the Summary of Economic Projections (SEP)," Jay H. Bryson, acting chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, said in a report.

"We suspect that may open the door to implicit forward guidance, a tool heralded by policymakers before the current crisis as