“Economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, reflecting in part a reversal of the temporary factors that had weighed on growth earlier in the year,” the Federal Open Market Committee said today in Washington after a two-day meeting. At the same time, “recent indicators point to continuing weakness in overall labor market conditions.”
The statement may reflect the desire of policy makers led by Chairman Ben S. Bernanke to see if the unconventional policy steps unveiled at their last two meetings help the expansion gain strength before embarking on new initiatives. While the economy grew last quarter at the fastest pace in a year, that is still insufficient to push down the unemployment rate, and officials have said the U.S. remains vulnerable to shocks from the European debt crisis.
Treasuries pared losses after the statement, leaving the 10-year yield at 2.00 percent at 1:26 p.m. in New York, compared with 1.99 percent late yesterday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.9 percent to 1,228.66 after a report showed companies added more workers to payrolls than estimated.
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