The central bank said it continued to believe that the "risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future".
The statement went on to use the Fed's code for a willingness to cut rates again, saying "the risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future".
And it held to its policy bias toward further rate reductions, concluding that "the risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future".
Yesterday, even after the Fed acted and said, as it had in March, that "the risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future," Fed officials were trying to sound optimistic.
But with signs of softness still patently in evidence at the time of its January meeting, the F.O.M.C. retained its sense that the risks are weighted toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future.
In a statement, the Fed said the economic risks "are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness," phrasing that the central bank uses to signal that it is open to a rate reduction if the outlook does not improve.
While offering some reassuring words about the economy's prospects over the long run, the Fed also signaled that it would probably cut rates further in coming months, saying that "the risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future".
Using its stock phrase to indicate that it is leaving the door open to further rate cuts if the economy does not rebound soon, the Fed said "the risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness in the foreseeable future".
Consequently, the committee believes that for the foreseeable future, against the background of its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth and of the information currently available, the risks are weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness.
Should the Fed be concerned mainly that the economy is slowing to a rate below its capacity for noninflationary growth, the statement would read that the risks were "weighted mainly toward conditions that may generate economic weakness," the central bank said in a statement.
