WASHINGTON -- The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday, even as it said that labor market conditions were improving and inflation had picked up while domestic economic growth had slowed.
In a statement after its latest policy meeting, the Fed noted that the United States is enjoying solid job gains but also that "economic activity appears to have slowed."
The Fed said that such key areas as consumer spending, business investment and exports have weakened in recent months. At the same time, it expressed less alarm about global economic conditions than it had after its previous meeting in March.
In March, the Fed had cautioned that global developments "pose risks." In Wednesday's statement, the Fed no longer mentioned such risks, though it said it would "closely monitor" global economic and financial developments.
The Fed repeated that it expects inflation to move toward its 2 percent target from persistently low levels as temporary factors, like much lower energy prices, fade.
"The softness in U.S. economic data to start 2016 gave the Fed plenty of cover to hold off on further rate hikes now, and they held their cards close to the vest regarding upcoming meetings," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate.
Investor reaction to the Fed's announcement, which was in line with expectations, was muted. Bond prices rose slightly, sending yields moderately lower. Stock indexes traded about where they were before the Fed released its latest policy statement at 1 p.m.
"Frankly, the economy is still operating in second gear," said Tim Hopper, chief economist at TIAA-CREF. "Because things are still somewhat slow, they're not going to be able to raise rates."
The Fed's decision was approved on a 9-1 vote, with Esther George, head of the Fed's regional bank in Kansas City, dissenting for a second straight meeting. As in March, George argued for an immediate rate increase.
The Fed didn't rule out a rate change at its next meeting in June. But neither did it say anything in its statement to prepare investors for such action.
In October, the Fed had said in a post-meeting statement that it would decide whether it would be "appropriate" to raise rates at its next meeting in December, when it did increase rates from record lows.
Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, one of the most vocal supporters of central bank stimulus, recently said he considers two rate increases this year as "appropriate." Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren argued earlier this month that the economy's moderate pace of growth will continue.
"I do not see that the risks are so elevated, nor the outlook so pessimistic, as to justify the exceptionally shallow interest rate path currently reflected in financial futures markets," he said.
Economists have suggested that the Fed will likely again insert such language into the statement that precedes its next rate increase to prepare investors and ensure an orderly market response.
On Wednesday, the Fed took note of a slowdown in economic growth at the start of the year. Its statement said that consumer spending has moderated in recent months even though incomes have been growing solidly.
The statement also observed that business investment spending and exports have slowed. Business investment has been hurt by the plunge in oil prices. Lower energy prices have triggered spending cuts at energy companies. And exporters have struggled with a strong dollar, which has made American goods costlier overseas.
In December, when the Fed raised its benchmark rate, it signaled that it expected four more rate increases in 2016. But in March, it revised that expectation to just two changes. And some economists say it might not raise rates again before the second half of the year.
A slowdown in China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States -- has already hurt the developing world. Europe is straining to gain momentum, and Japan is hobbled by wary consumers and an aging population.
The Commerce Department is expected today to estimate that the U.S. economy grew at a tepid annual rate under 1 percent in the January-March quarter. Some forecasters think growth might have been as weak as 0.3 percent, which would mean the economy nearly stalled out last quarter.
GDPNow, the Atlanta Fed's measure of economic growth, estimated first-quarter expansion at an annual rate of 0.6 percent, as of Wednesday. Growth in the last quarter of 2015 was also weak, at 1.4 percent on an annualized basis, according to the Commerce Department.
U.S. inflation is running well below the Fed's optimal level of 2 percent.
Far from considering rate increases, other major central banks are weighing steps to further ease credit, increase inflation and bolster growth.
When the Bank of Japan meets today a key topic will be what else it might do to fight economic weakness, raise inflation and blunt a rise in the yen's value against the dollar, which hurts Japan's exporters. In January, in a desperate bid to raise inflation, Japan's central bank introduced negative rates. Yet inflation and growth remain stuck near zero.
Last week, Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, made clear he was ready to deploy more stimulus efforts if needed to energize the 19-nation eurozone economy. That pledge came after the central bank had already expanded its stimulus programs in March.
China's sliding economy has stabilized after worries about its growth had rocked financial markets in January. But now, a new challenge has raised international concerns: A June 23 referendum in which Britain will decide whether to leave the European Union. President Barack Obama and other world leaders have warned that a British exit from the EU could threaten the global economy.
Because that vote will occur just a week after the Fed's June 14-15 meeting, some analysts have suggested that the U.S. central bank would avoid any rate change in June for fear it could rattle markets ahead of the British vote.
Information for this article was contributed by Martin Crutsinger of The Associated Press, Ylan Q. Mui of The Washington Post and Christopher Condon of Bloomberg News and Binyamin Appelbaum of The New York Times.
Business on 04/28/2016