WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve left its benchmark interest rate unchanged Wednesday even as it said that labor market conditions were improving and inflation had picked up.

华盛顿——周三，尽管美联储(Federal Reserve)称劳动力市场正在改善、通货膨胀有所加强，但该机构仍决定保持基准利率不变。

As expected, the Fed held steady on interest rates after a two-day meeting of its policymaking committee, noting that domestic economic growth had slowed. But the central bank appears on course to increase rates later this year.

不出所料，在其政策制定委员会举行了一场为期两天的会议后，美联储决定保持利率不变，并指出美国国内经济增长出现了减缓现象。不过，作为美国央行，美联储似乎准备在今年晚些时候加息。

“Labor market conditions have improved further even as growth in economic activity appears to have slowed,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in its statement after the meeting.

“尽管经济活力的增加看来有所放缓，但劳动力市场的情况有了进一步的改善，”联邦公开市场委员会(Federal Open Market Committee)在会后的声明中称。

When the Fed raised its benchmark interest rate in December, for the first time since the financial crisis, it said it was beginning a march toward higher rates. But the central bank has yet to take a second step.

去年12月，美联储在本轮金融危机后首次提高基准利率。当时，美联储表示自己开始走上加息的道路。但迄今为止，该机构尚未迈出第二步。

The April meeting represents the Fed’s third consecutive decision to stay put. The benchmark rate remains in a range of 0.25 percent to 0.5 percent, and borrowing costs for businesses and consumers have barely climbed.

今年4月的会议代表着美联储连续第三次决定保持利率不变。基准利率仍保持在0.25%到0.5%的区间，企业和消费者借贷的成本几乎未有增加。

This time, the Fed pointed to several areas of weakness in the domestic economy. It said household spending had “moderated,” and business investment and export activity remained “soft.”

这一次，美联储指出了美国国内经济的几个薄弱环节，称家庭支出“逐渐平淡”，企业投资和出口活跃程度依然“疲软”。

But those sour notes were tempered. The Fed noted that household income continued to rise and that consumer sentiment remained positive. Housing construction is increasing and, most important, the statement underlined continued strength of job creation.

不过，这些不良信号均遭淡化。美联储指出，家庭收入持续上涨，消费者情绪保持积极。住宅建设正在增加，而且最重要的是，声明强调了创造就业的强劲势头。

“A range of recent indicators, including strong job gains, points to additional strengthening of the labor market,” the statement said.

“最近的一系列指标，包括就业岗位增长势头强劲，证明劳动力市场进一步增强，”声明中称。

The statement also suggested that the Fed’s concerns about global economic weakness had diminished. The Fed’s last statement, in March, described global conditions as a headwind for domestic growth. The April statement said merely that the Fed continued to monitor global economic and financial developments.

文中还表明，美联储对全球经济疲软的担忧有所减少。美联储在3月发表的上一份声明称，全球的状况不利于美国的增长。而4月的声明仅表示，美联储会继续观察全球经济和金融发展。

The statement also said that “inflation picked up in recent months,” although it noted that inflation remained below the Fed’s 2 percent annual target, and inflation expectations remained weak.

声明还称，“最近几个月，通货膨胀的情况有好转迹象”，但也指出通胀率依然低于美联储制订的2%年度目标，且通胀预期持续走低。