The Federal Reserve said that US economic activity had "decelerated somewhat" since its policymakers last met but failed to provide fresh clues on potential action to revive growth.
"The Committee expects economic growth to remain moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up very gradually," policymakers said in a statement released at the end of their two-day meeting.
"Consequently, the Committee anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline only slowly toward levels that it judges to be consistent with its dual mandate. Furthermore, strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook."
While few had anticipated the Fed to announce fresh measures today, most had hoped for new indications as to when they might provide the aid they are ready to give as they have mentioned repeatedly.
"The market had gotten ahead of itself a bit in terms of what the Fed would do," Steven Ricchiuto, chief economist at Mizuho Securities in New York, told Reuters. "Markets will be disappointed, as they should be. But it did seem it would at least manage expectations. They did absolutely nothing here. It suggests there is a lot of internal debate going on in the Fed."
