The Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday maintained thefederal funds rate at a range of zero to 0.25%.

According to a Federal Reserve Board release, the Fed reaffirmed its previous position that the rate will probablyremain at the same level through late 2014 or beyond, due to lowrates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflationover the medium run.

The FOMC said it expects economic growth to remain moderate in coming quarters and thento pick up gradually. Consequently, the committee anticipates theunemployment rate will decline gradually. However, strains inglobal financial markets continue to pose significant downsiderisks to the economic outlook, the Fed reported.

The increase in oil and gasoline prices earlier this year is expected to affectinflation only temporarily, and the committee anticipates thatinflation “will run at or below the rate that it judges mostconsistent with its dual mandate.”

The FOMC will continue its program to extend the averagematurity of its holdings of securities in order to place downwardpressure on longer-term interest rates. The committee said it alsohopes to keep mortgage rates low by rolling over its investments inagency mortgage-backed securities.