WASHINGTON — It could be quite a while before the Federal Reserve starts raising the interest rates it has kept at record lows for three years.
Maybe not before 2014.
That’s the thinking of many analysts as the Fed prepares this week to provide more explicit clues about how long short-term rates will likely stay near zero.
Starting when their policy meeting ends Wednesday, Fed members plan to forecast the direction of those rates four times a year. The clearer guidance will accompany the Fed’s usual quarterly predictions of growth, unemployment and inflation.
The new hints about rates are part of a Fed drive to make its communications with the public more transparent. The more immediate goal is to assure consumers and investors that they’ll be able to borrow cheaply well into the future.
No announcements are expected Wednesday of any further Fed action to try to lift the economy. Most analysts think Fed members want to put off any new steps, such as more bond purchases, to see whether the economy can extend the gains it has made in recent months.
That’s true even though this year’s new roster of voting members on the Fed’s policy panel suggests that fewer voters would likely oppose further steps to boost the economy. Twice last year, Fed action to try to further lower long-term rates drew three dissenting votes out of 10.
2.5% to 2.9%Federal reserve’s november projection for economic growth in 2012, a range that exceeds that of many private economists
