Federal Reserve leaves policies intact

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve left monetary policy unchanged Wednesday, saying the economy showed improvement in the third quarter.

After a two-day policy meeting in Washington, the Fed's Open Market Committee said, "Economic growth strengthened somewhat in the third quarter, reflecting in part of a reversal of the temporary factors that had weighed on growth earlier in the year."

The release was more upbeat than recent notes from the central bank, which noted a recovery that had turned sluggish.

On policy, the bank said it would maintain its federal fund rate -- the overnight rate it charges banks for loans -- at zero to 1.25 percent.

The Fed also said it would maintain its "existing policies" of exchanging short-term mortgage-backed securities for longer-term securities, a move meant to keep long-term interest rates low.