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Federal Reserve maintains pace of asset purchases Federal Reserve maintains pace of asset purchases
(35 minutes later)
The US Federal Reserve has maintained the rate of its asset purchase programme at $85bn (£54bn) a month, aimed at boosting the economy.The US Federal Reserve has maintained the rate of its asset purchase programme at $85bn (£54bn) a month, aimed at boosting the economy.
It also kept interest rates at a record low range of between zero and 0.25%.It also kept interest rates at a record low range of between zero and 0.25%.
The Fed will hold a press conference later, which will be watched closely for any signs of when the central bank may begin to wind down its stimulus. Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said if the central bank's forecasts were correct, it could begin slowing asset purchases by the end of 2013 and wind them down completely by the end of 2014.
Last month, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said the bank could start to slow the pace "in the next few weeks". But he emphasised that the programme was tied to economic conditions.
Forecasts
In its latest statement, the Fed noted further improvement in labour market conditions in recent months, and said the downside risks to the jobs market and the economy had "diminished since the fall".
In fresh quarterly projections, the central bank said it expects the US economy to grow between 2.3% and 2.6%.
It predicts an unemployment rate of about 7.2% to 7.3% by the end of the year.
Fourteen of the 19 members of the Fed's policy-setting committee said they did not think it would be appropriate to raise interest rates until 2015, while one member thought a rate rise would not be seen until 2016.
Mr Bernanke has been Federal Reserve chairman since 2006 and is expected to step down when his second term ends in January 2014.
President Obama has suggested that Mr Bernanke will not continue beyond the end of his term, saying in a recent interview that he had "already stayed a lot longer than he wanted".