The Federal Reserve raised its annual outlook for US economic growth on Wednesday and projected a larger decline in unemployment over the next two years.
Staying the course on monetary policy and keeping interest rates near zero after a two-day meeting, the Fed said the economy was on track to keep expanding at "a moderate pace."
And, in an update to its forecast, the central bank said gross domestic product would grow by between 2.3 percent and 2.4 percent this year, up from a September estimate of 2.0 to 2.2 percent.
The estimate for GDP growth in 2015 was unchanged at 2.6 to 3.0 percent, while the 2016 range widened slightly to 2.5 to 3.0 percent.
The most striking change in the Fed forecasts from three months ago was to the projected unemployment rate, which is now expected to end this year at 5.8 percent, instead of at between 5.9 and 6.0 percent.
The faster-than-anticipated improvement should lower the jobless rate to 5.2 to 5.3 percent in 2015 and to 5.0 to 5.2 percent in 2016.
The 2015 outlook for inflation, which has remained subdued since the 2008 crash, was lower than previously estimated, at between 1.0 and 1.6 percent, well below the Fed`s comfort zone of 2.0 percent.
