WASHINGTON — The US Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday but strongly signalled it could still tighten monetary policy by the end of this year as the labour market improved further. The Fed said US economic activity had picked up and job gains were "solid" in recent months. "The case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened," the US central bank said in a statement following a two-day policy meeting. It added that its rate-setting committee had decided against raising rates "for the time being", until there was more evidence of progress towards its employment and inflation objectives. The Fed has held its target rate for overnight lending between banks in a range of 0.25% to 0.50% since December, when it raised borrowing costs for the first time in nearly a decade. The central bank has appeared increasingly divided over the urgency of raising rates.
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