The Latest: Moore issues statement before Powell speaks

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting (all times local):

2:35 p.m.

President Donald Trump's controversial choice for the Federal Reserve board of governors issued a statement supporting his own nomination within a minute of Fed officials announcing that they would keep a key short-term rate unchanged.

Stephen Moore, the economics and politics commentator, issued a statement through a public relations firm that noted support from Jeremy Siegel, a finance professor at the University of Pennsylvania who was interviewed on CNBC.

Siegel says that Moore would "help solve the Federal Reserve's groupthink problem." Moore favors cutting rates, a stance shared by Trump.

But Moore's statement also criticizes the possibility of trying to spend $2 trillion on infrastructure by raising taxes.

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2 p.m.

The Federal Reserve is leaving its key interest rate unchanged and signaling that no rate hikes are likely in coming months, amid signs of renewed economic health but unusually low inflation.

The Fed left its benchmark rate — which influences many consumer and business loans — in a range of 2.25% to 2.5%. The central bank's low-rate policy has helped boost stock prices and supported a steadily growing economy whose outlook has brightened since late last year.

The Fed did make a technical adjustment to trim the interest it pays banks on reserves to 2.35 percent as a way to keep its benchmark rate inside its approved range.

The decision Wednesday to make no change in the policy rate policy had been expected despite renewed pressure from President Donald Trump for the Fed to cut rates aggressively to help accelerate economic growth.

The Fed statement had a more upbeat view of the economy, saying that "economic activity rose at a solid...