We also employed an overnight reverse repurchase facility, through which we interact with a broad range of firms to help provide a soft floor for the federal funds rate consistent with our target range. 2 These new tools have worked well, and the federal funds rate and other short-term interest rates have increased slightly, as expected.
We will continue to monitor financial market developments closely, and we can make adjustments to our tools if necessary to maintain control over money market rates. At our meeting last week, we left our target for the federal funds rate unchanged. Economic data over the intermeeting period suggested that improvement in labor market conditions continued even as economic growth slowed late last year.