Mortgage rates are mostly unchanged after the Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee meeting on Wednesday.
The FOMC voted to leave the Fed Funds Rate unchanged within its current range of 0.000-0.250 percent.
The Fed said Wednesday it will continue what economists like to call Operation Twist, an attempt to bring down long-term interest rates to stimulate economic growth.
The operation "should put downward pressure on longer-term interest rates and help to make broader financial conditions more accommodative," the Federal Open Market Committee said in a written statement.
T he Fed is now looking for 2012 economic growth of just 1.9 percent to 2.4 percent, down sharply from the range of 2.4 percent to 2.9 percent in April.
That's the range excluding the three highest and three lowest forecasts. It includes predictions from all of the Federal Reserve governors and bank presidents, not just the ones currently voting on the Federal Open Market Committee. The new unemployment prediction is for a fourth quarter 2012 average of 8 percent to 8.2 percent, up from 7.8 percent to 8 percent.
The Fed took a more bearish tone toward economic growth and expansion domestically than it did 6 weeks ago, and has an eye on external threats to the economy from the Eurozone.
The Fed reiterated that it is hoping to preserve low long-term interest rates through the end of 2014. The currently low interest rates are meant to encourage people and businesses to borrow and spend.
