The U.S. Federal Reserve will keep its massive economic stimulus program intact, officials said Wednesday, amid concerns that the recovery remains fragile.

Their statement about the economy hardly changed from September and gave little direction as to when the central bank believes it can pull back its stimulus and allow the recovery to stand on its own.

The central bank has been pumping $85 billion a month into the economy for the past year in hopes of lowering long-term interest rates and encouraging consumers and businesses to open their wallets. Fed officials had hoped that by now the effort would have spurred stronger job growth and faster economic expansion.