US Federal Reserve policymakers are increasingly confident the downturn in the US economy is ending, minutes from their latest meeting show.

美国联邦储备局高级官员在开完最近一次会议之后，倍感美国经济低迷将要结束。

Mr Bernanke has said interest rates will stay low for some time

The assessment¹ by recently re-appointed Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues struck a more upbeat tone than the last assessment in late June.

But there was uncertainty² about how quickly the economy would grow in 2010.

Unemployment, which is set to move above 10% this year, may impact on consumer behaviour, they warned.

Falling property and share values, along with the difficulty in getting credit also meant that consumers still faced "considerable headwinds", they added.

'More upbeat'

However the Fed said that consumer spending appeared to be levelling out and that the housing market was becoming more solid, while manufacturing was stabilising.

The prospects³ for US exporters will also brighten, as the economies of other countries improved, the policymakers added.

These factors led them to believe that "the downturn in economic activity was ending", the minutes said.

The International Monetary⁴ Fund (IMF) has predicted that the US economy will expand by 0.75% next year, after earlier predicting no growth.

"The economic data look more upbeat. It doesn't mean we will get out of this any time soon. At least there are signs we are bottoming out - that's the first step," said David Wyss, chief economist⁵ of Standard & Poor's Ratings.