Fed unlikely to raise interest rates

WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve is unlikely to raise key interest rates this week or unwind emergency support as the economy starts a tough recovery from recession, analysts say.
Fed policymakers were expected to hold the base lending rate at near-zero and maintain a trillion-plus dollar program to underpin the recovery at the conclusion of their two-day meeting Wednesday.
Economists and traders will be poring over the Federal Open Market Committee statement released after the meeting in search of signals for the direction of monetary policy.
"The Federal Open Market Committee will use its post-meeting statement to acknowledge the recession has ended and revise its near-term forecast to reflect the better tone of the data," said Joseph Brusuelas of Moody's Economy.com.
www.timesofoman.com