US Federal Reserve officials are unlikely to make any shift to monetary policy this week as they wait for more evidence of how badly Washingtons budget battle has hurt the US economy. Indeed,they could stand pat for the rest of the year. Economic data released since a partial government shutdown ended has been surprisingly weak. Job growth slowed in September,a period that preceded the governments 16-day partial shutdown,and business investment plans flagged. The Fed has promised not to raise rates until unemployment drops to at least 6.5 percent,provided inflation looks set to stay under 2.5 percent. The jobless rate stood at 7.2 per cent in September. Consumer and business confidence could suffer lasting harm after politicians flirted with a debt default by refusing to raise the US borrowing limit until the last moment,in a deal that only postpones the fiscal fight until the new year. Making matters worse,the shutdown interrupted data gathering in October,muddying the picture for Fed policymakers seeking signs on the economys strength. On top of the economic uncertainty,officials may be hesitant to make any dramatic policy shift given the upcoming leadership change at the central bank. President Barack Obama nominated Janet Yellen,the Feds current vice chair,earlier this month to replace Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman when his term ends in January. The pending change at the Feds top dims prospects for any shift in the time-being in its so-called forward guidance on interest rates. The US central banks policy-setting committee is to release a statement on its policy decision on Wednesday,at the end of its two-day meeting,at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT).
