Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben  Bernanke, has signalled that he is concerned that Europe’s crisis will hobble a two-and-half year United States expansion that may need another boost from the central bank, Reuters reported.

The Fed’s policy-setting panel, which met in Washington on Tuesday, said the economy “has been expanding moderately,” compared with the November 2 assessment that growth “strengthened somewhat.” At the same time, the central bank added a reference to “apparent slowing in global growth,” and said that “strains in global financial markets continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.”

Bernanke and his colleagues may be considering more measures to aid growth and improve public understanding of Fed policy, which could be unveiled as soon as their next meeting taking place January 25-26, said Julia Coronado, chief North America economist at BNP Paribas. The Fed reiterated that it expects joblessness to drop “only gradually.”

“They still see downside risks, so I still think they’re tilted toward easing,” said Coronado, a former Fed researcher who is based in New York. She said she expects a new round of asset purchases in the second quarter, or as soon as the January or March meetings should the economy deteriorate faster.

The “recent strength in data” allows Fed officials to “be a little more patient than they otherwise might be,” Coronado said.

Improvement in some US statistics suggests growth may be accelerating. The index of leading economic indicators rose 0.9 per cent in October, the most since February. A consumer confidence index from the Conference Board rose in November to the highest since July. Manufacturing expanded in November at the fastest pace in five months, according to the Institute for Supply Management’s factory index.

The Federal Open Market Committee, in its statement yesterday after a one-day meeting, reiterated that interest rates would stay near zero through at least mid-2013 and maintained its $400bn portfolio shift toward longer-term Treasuries, the September action dubbed Operation Twist. Chicago Fed President Charles Evans dissented for the second straight meeting, preferring additional easing.

Policy makers acknowledged “some improvement in overall labor market conditions” after the unemployment rate unexpectedly fell by 0.4 percentage point in November to 8.6 per cent. That level is still “elevated,” while business fixed investment “appears to be increasing less rapidly” and the housing market “remains depressed,” the FOMC said.