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WASHINGTON, May 1-- The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday left interest rates unchanged and downplayed concerns about weak inflation, as the central bank saw no need to alter its "patient" approach on interest-rate moves. In a statement after concluding a two-day policy meeting, the Fed said the Federal Open Market Committee, the Fed's policy-making committee, decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 2.25 percent to 2.5 percent. The Fed reiterated that it "will be patient" with future adjustments to the federal funds rate in light of global economic and financial developments and "muted inflation pressures." "Inflation is low, which gives us the ability to be patient and we do expect it to move up and we want it to move up to 2 percent," Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said Wednesday at a press conference, believing the recent weakness in price pressures is likely "transient". "We think that our policy stance is appropriate at the moment. And we don't see a strong case for moving in either direction," he said. The meeting came after the Department of Commerce reported last week that the U.S. economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.2 percent in the first quarter, mostly driven by strong exports and private inventory investment. The better-than-expected growth in the first quarter has allayed worries of a sharp economic slowdown, giving some Fed officials reasons to believe that the central bank should stick to its rate-hiking plan. | 
