The US Federal Reserve today held interest rates at 1958 lows and signaled it was in no hurry to raise borrowing costs with job creation sluggish and inflation tame.
The unanimous decision by the policy-making Federal Open Market Committee keeps the trendsetting federal funds rate for overnight loans between banks at 1 per cent, a level hit after a cut last June.
The US central bank repeated that risks of a fall in inflation were "almost equal" to that of a climb in consumer prices and chances of a pickup in growth and a downturn were "roughly" balanced.
The FOMC also reiterated it could afford to be "patient" about raising rates, implying that policy-makers feel scant pressure to boost credit costs despite a strengthening economy because inflation remains muted and job growth is anemic.
The FOMC statement was remarkably similar to that issued after their last meeting on January 28th, though policy-makers' analysis of labor market conditions seemed slightly more downbeat.
"The evidence accumulated over the inter-meeting period (since late January) indicates that output is continuing to expand at a solid pace," the Fed said.
"Although job losses have slowed, new hiring has lagged. Increases in core consumer prices are muted and expected to remain low," it added.
In the last half of 2003, the US economy expanded at the fastest rate since 1984, posting annual rates of growth of 4.1 percent in the fourth quarter and 8.2 per cent in the third.