Fed sees ‘moderate’ economic growth

The Federal Reserve said it expects a "moderate pace of economic growth" in the next few months, and foresees "that the unemployment rate will decline gradually."

The central bank said in a statement that the economy has "strengthened somewhat" recently, but that high joblessness isn't likely to end any time soon.

It added that "strains in global financial markets"--an apparent reference to the European debt crisis--pose a major risk to the economy.

At a meeting this morning, Fed policymakers declined to take additional action to spur growth. Last month, they announced that they would keep long-term interest rates near zero and would buy $600 billion in long-term Treasury bonds in an effort to encourage lending.

The next major signpost for the economy will come on Friday, when the government will release its monthly jobs report. Analysts expect it to show that employers added 95,000 jobs--not a catastrophe, but still not enough to put a real dent in unemployment.