The US Federal Reserve has kept interest rates on hold at its current range of between zero and 0.25%, and suggested the recession may be easing.

美国联邦储备局将利率保持在0到0.25%之间，暗示经济衰退可能会放松。

The Fed said action already taken should help boost economic activity

It also said it would continue its present level of purchasing long-term government debt to expand money supply.

The economy is still contracting, but the pace of contraction¹ appears to be "somewhat slower", the Fed said.

Earlier, official data showed GDP fell 6.1% in the first three months of 2009, led by a sharp fall in exports.

Last month the central bank announced a $1.2 trillion (£843bn) programme of buying government debt to boost lending and promote economic recovery - a policy known as quantitative²（数量的，定量的） easing.

Although the economic outlook had "improved modestly" since its March meeting, economic activity is "likely to remain weak for a time", the Fed said.

The bank added that it expected inflation to remain subdued（屈服的，柔和的）.

Analysts³ noted⁴ the optimistic tone of the meeting but said the Fed should leave the door open to further action if needed.

"The recession is still with us, the Fed still needs to be vigilant⁵（警惕的） and to pull out all the stops and to provide all the liquidity⁶（流动性） that they can," said Mark Vitner, economist⁷ at Wachovia Securities.

"The economy has gone from being in a freefall and is now on the road to recovery."