WASHINGTON, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve's annual Jackson Hole economic policy symposium will be held virtually on Aug. 27 due to the recently elevated COVID-19 health risk level in Teton County, Wyoming, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, which hosts the conference.

"While we are disappointed that health conditions will prevent us from being able to gather in person at the Jackson Lake Lodge this year as we had planned, the safety of our guests and the Teton County community is our priority," Esther George, president of the Kansas City Fed, said Friday in a statement.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's remarks will be livestreamed to the public at 10 a.m. ET on Aug. 27 via the Kansas City Fed's YouTube channel. Invited attendees will participate in an online academic symposium following the speech, according to the Kansas City Fed.

This year's Jackson Hole conference will be closely watched by market participants as Powell could use the occasion to signal that the Fed is on track to tapering its asset purchase program later this year.

The Fed has pledged to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at the record-low level of near zero, while continuing its asset purchase program at least at the current pace of 120 billion U.S. dollars per month until "substantial further progress" has been made on employment and inflation.

Most Fed officials indicated last month that it could be appropriate for the central bank to start tapering asset purchases this year if the U.S. economy were to evolve broadly as they anticipated, according to the minutes of the Fed's recent policy meeting released Wednesday.

"Various participants commented that economic and financial conditions would likely warrant a reduction in coming months," the Fed said in the minutes of its July 27-28 meeting.

The Jackson Hole economic policy symposium usually brought together a distinguished group of central bankers, policymakers, academics and economists from around the world, but it was held virtually last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

In May, the Kansas City Fed said that it planned to host a modified, in-person Jackson Hole conference this year. Enditem