As expected the U.S. Federal Reserve Board left rates unchanged at 1.25% .

In its policy statement released this afternoon, the Fed did not make any notable change to its policy stance, noting, “The Committee continues to believe that this accommodative stance of monetary policy, coupled with still robust underlying growth in productivity, is providing important ongoing support to economic activity. The limited number of incoming economic indicators since the November meeting, taken together, are not inconsistent with the economy working its way through its current soft spot.”

The bank retained its neutral bias. “In these circumstances, the Committee believes that, against the background of its long-run goals of price stability and sustainable economic growth and of the information currently available, the risks are balanced with respect to the prospects for both goals for the foreseeable future.”

Once again, the committee’s vote was unanimous.