Here comes the Fed ...

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janet yellen

Evan Vucci/AP

Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, June 21, 2016, to testify before the Senate Banking Committee. Yellen said the U.S. economy faces a number of uncertainties that require the Fed to proceed cautiously in raising interest rates.

The Federal Reserve will release its latest policy statement at 2 p.m. ET.

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It's expected to show that the benchmark Fed funds rate will remain unchanged in a 0.25% to 0.50% range - another one of the Federal Open Markets Committee's more predictable decisions, given the consensus.

The statement comes at the end of the FOMC's two-day meeting in Washington, and will not be accompanied by new economic projections or a press conference by Fed chair Janet Yellen.

The Fed would likely acknowledge the employment gains seen in the better June jobs report, compared to the hiring slowdown in May that the Fed noted in its previous statement.

That jobs report, concerns about the economic impact of the UK referendum to leave the EU, and perhaps the market's unwillingness for higher rates right now, likely put the Fed on hold in July.

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The Fed could also note that consumer-based measures of inflation expectations, via the University of Michigan's monthly survey, have improved a bit.

But direct clues on the timing of the next rate hike may be scarce, for now.

Investors are looking ahead to the minutes of this meeting due in August, and to Yellen's comments at the Jackson Hole economic symposium in August.

We'll have the full statement and its highlights at the top of the hour.

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