The US Federal Reserve late on Tuesday slashed its lending rate from 1 per cent to zero to 0.25 per cent.
This unprecedented move is to boost a flagging American economy and to provide enough liquidity to credit-choked businesses.
The Fed said in a statement that it would use all the available tools to promote the resumption of sustainable economic growth and to preserve price stability.
The US Fed is also ready to expand the already announced large purchases of debt issued by government-sponsored mortgage agencies to support the battered US housing market.