In a statement due for release around 12:30 p.m., the Fed looks set to repeat its commitment to keeping interest rates low for an extended period, while also restating an intention to continue reinvesting proceeds from maturing bonds it holds back into the Treasury market. Bernanke's news conference will follow at 2:15 p.m..
The central bank and its chairman will have to describe the inflation outlook with some nuance, since energy costs have come down rapidly even as core inflation readings that exclude food and energy have edged higher.