The Federal Reserve yesterday kept a resolute focus on the risks to future inflation, noting the recent decline in core inflation in the US but playing down its significance in language that offered little relief to the bond markets.

The statement at the end of its June policy meeting made no reference to the recent turmoil in the bond market or to any risks to growth deriving from it, leaving the impression that the Fed's view of US economic prospects has not changed greatly since the last meeting in early May.