The Federal Reserve increased its projection of growth this year to between 3.4% and 3.9%, according to the minutes of its January meeting, which were released today.
Originally the central bank had projected growth would be between 3.0% and 3.6%.
The Fed wrote that the changes reflect "greater monetary and fiscal stimulus as well as the effects of more moderate oil prices and long-term interest rates, but they continued to show no more than a gradual economic recovery. The staff again expected that unemployment would rise substantially through the beginning of 2010 before edging down over the remainder of that year."
Fed officials project that unemployment will be between 8.8% and 9.0% this year.
To read the minutes of the January meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, go to: http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/fomcminutes20110126.pdf
