Fed leaves rates, QE2 unchanged

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee on Wednesday made no policy changes, holding its key interest rate at historic low range of 0% to 0.25% and continuing on course with its $600 billion program of Treasury purchases. The decisions were widely expected. The FOMC made only few changes to the language of the policy statement it issued in December. Significantly, the FOMC said that underlying inflation is still trending lower, despite rising commodity prices. While the economy was recovering, the rate was still insufficient to bring about a significant improvement in labor market conditions, the statement said. The vote by the committee was unanimous.