The Federal Reserve resumed a two-day meeting on Wednesday that is expected to yield upward revisions to its growth forecasts but not enough for officials to take off the table the option of a further easing of monetary policy.
Policymakers at the central bank probably will reiterate their expectations that official borrowing costs will remain near zero until at least late 2014.
“The meeting ... is unlikely to provide any new clues to the Fed’s next actions, rather leaving open the possibility of new measures depending on the economic outlook,” said Richard Gilhooly, a bond market strategist at TD Securities.
The government also reported that orders for manufactured goods plunged 4.2% in March, the biggest drop since the economy was nose-diving in early 2009.