Fed unhappy with weakness in the economy

The Fed is concerned about weakness in the US labour market and economy, putting a dampener on its plans to lift rates this year. The reserve’s latest policy statement hints that it will adopt a meeting-by-meeting approach in deciding when to lift rates for the first time since June 2006. “The committee anticipates that it will be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate when it has seen further improvement in the labour market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2% objective over the medium term,” the Fed said, mirroring guidance it gave last month but did not completely rule out lifting rates at its next meeting.