IANS

Washington, Sep 3: The US Federal Reserve sees an end to the economic crisis in the second half of the year even as problems are expected to remain on the job market, according to minutes of the central bank's last meeting released Wednesday.

Still the majority of the central bankers said at the Aug 11-12 meeting that they expected recovery to be slow and stressed that the economy was "still vulnerable to adverse shocks".

The Federal Open Market Committee said business would likely remain cautious in hiring new workers and income growth would remain "sluggish" along with tight credit conditions for households. Business investment would also remain weak, due to excess capacity and credit conditions, the Fed said.

The Federal Reserve kept interest rates at near 0 per cent at the August meeting and showed no signs of changing course as it said the United States may be emerging from a 20-month recession.

The Fed has kept its benchmark federal funds rate at a 0-0.25 percent range since December and repeated that it would stay the course "for an extended period" as the economy begins to recover.

US President Barack Obama last month also reappointed Ben Bernanke to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, electing stability over change during the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.