Fed to Hold Rates Low Until Late 2014 The Federal Reserve said Wednesday it expects to keep record low interest rates in place at least until late 2014. Citing concerns for a global economic slowdown and an expectation that the U.S. labor market will continue to heal gradually rather than swiftly, members of the Federal Open Market Committee left interest rates at their current range of 0-0.25%. The Fed said in a statement that economic conditions "are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014." The decision to maintain a fiscal policy in place now for over three years was widely anticipated on Wall Street. Investors seemed cheered by the announcement, pushing stock markets off session lows in midday trading. The Dow Jones Industrial average was down 10.45, or 0.08%, at 12665.30. The Fed "is taking out an insurance policy in case of a steeper recession in Europe," said Peter Cardillo, chief market analyst at Rockwell Global Capital. They took a wait and see attitude. Cardillo said today's announcement is essentially a "non-event," but that keeping interest rates in place long-term would eliminate uncertainty for investors. The Fed gave no indication that a new round of bond buying was in the works. Still to come Wednesday is a historic move in terms of Fed policy: members of the FOMC will release their own individual forecasts for when interest rates might be heading higher. Those forecasts are likely to echo the statement released earlier, showing a hesitancy on the part of policy makers to raise interest rates any time soon. Last summer the Fed broke from its longstanding policy of not providing specific dates or timetables for its policy decisions by announcing interest rates wouldn't be raised from their current range before mid-2013. Rates were set at that low range in December 2008 at the peak of the financial crisis. The forecasts due today from members of the Federal Open Market Committee have been widely viewed as an opportunity for policy makers to justify pushing the timetable for raising rates back given the halting nature of the U.S. economic recovery. Analysts at Nomura Securities offered the prevailing view of Wall Street ahead of Wednesday's announcement: "We expect the FOMC to acknowledge better incoming data on the US economy, but signal no change in the outlook. We also expect the FOMC to keep a reference to a specific date in the statement, but we think that date will move to 2014. The economy has shown signs of momentum recently, in particular in labor markets where the unemployment rate has dropped the past two months. It now stands at 8.5%, the lowest point since February 2009. Confidence among homebuilders is also rising, according to data released last week. But little has changed in Europe and concerns remain that a default by Greece or another debt-addled country could set off a banking crisis to rival the 2008 financial crisis. Europe's long-running debt crisis is the main reason the Fed is expected keep its options open with regard to another round of bond purchases, known as quantitative easing. Since late 2008, when the collapse of the U.S. housing market set off a chain reaction that nearly brought down the global economy, the Fed has pursued a loose fiscal policy that has included low interest rates and nearly $3 trillion in bond purchases in a prolonged effort to kick start the economy. The only dissenter to Wednesday's interest rate announcement was Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker. Some members of the FOMC have expressed concerns in the past that low interest rates will eventually lead to inflation.