The Federal Reserve on Wednesday maintained its $85 billion per month asset purchase program, hoping to steer the U.S. economy through yet another rough patch.
Lingering weakness in the jobs market has convinced most policy makers not to reduce the stimulus this year, even though some say the central bank has already done its share to assist the U.S. recovery.
The Fed expects "economic growth will proceed at a moderate pace and the unemployment rate will gradually decline toward levels the Committee judges consistent with its dual mandate," according to a statement following the two-day meeting that ended today.
The Fed has pledged extraordinarily low interest rates until the jobless rate falls below 6.5 percent, but most voting members do not see that level of improvement until 2015.
The government's latest reading shows the unemployment rate at 7.6 percent. That figure is expected to hold steady when the Labor Department releases its April report on Friday.
Automatic Data Processing said this morning that the private sector added only 119,000 jobs in April, down from 131,000 in March and the weakest gain since September.
In short, the Fed will continue its $85 billion a month quantitative easing program for now, and will keep interest rates near zero for the foreseeable future. Policy makers said they are prepared to adjust the size of the monthly asset purchases as more data becomes available.
The Fed offered a mixed assessment of the economy:
"Labor market conditions have shown some improvement in recent months, on balance, but the unemployment rate remains elevated. Household spending and business fixed investment advanced, and the housing sector has strengthened further, but fiscal policy is restraining economic growth," today's statement read.
Today's decision was not unanimous. Esther L. George, who was concerned about long-term inflation expectations, voted against her colleagues for the third time this year.
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April 24, 2026 15:15 ET Economics news flow was relatively light this week even as the conflict in the Middle East continued, raising concerns for policymakers. In the U.S., spending data, initial jobless claims and pending home sales were the highlights. Business confidence in the biggest euro area economy was in focus in Europe. Inflation data from Japan gained attention in Asia.