NEW YORK (Reuters) - The length of time the Federal Reserve keeps its key interest rate near zero will depend on how far the U.S. economy remains from the central bank's employment and inflation goals, and how long it will likely take to meet them, Fed Chair Janet Yellen said on Wednesday.
Yellen, in her second public speech as Fed chair, largely restated the central bank's stance, stressing that it would respond to shifting economic conditions as it judges when to finally tighten monetary policy.
The central bank, frustrated with the slow U.S. recovery from recession, aims for maximum sustainable employment and a rise in inflation from just above 1 percent now to 2 percent.
"The larger the shortfall of employment or inflation from their respective objectives, and the slower the projected progress toward those objectives, the longer the current target range for the federal funds rate is likely to be maintained," Yellen told the Economic Club of New York.
"This approach underscores the continuing commitment of the (Fed's policy-setting committee) FOMC to maintain the appropriate degree of accommodation to support the recovery," she added, according to prepared remarks.
"The new guidance also reaffirms the FOMC's view that decisions about liftoff should not be based on any one indicator, but that it will take into account a wide range of information on the labor market, inflation, and financial developments."
(Reporting by Jonathan Spicer; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
