WASHINGTON — Some Federal Reserve officials are open to raising the amounts of mortgage and Treasury securities purchase programs beyond the $1.75 trillion that they have already committed to buying, according to minutes from the Fed’s April meeting.

[efoods]Officials, meanwhile, projected an even deeper recession than they expected three months earlier and a more sluggish recovery over the next two years as labor markets remain under pressure.

“Some members noted that a further increase in the total amount of purchases might well be warranted at some point to spur a more rapid pace of recovery,” according to the minutes of the April 28-29 meeting, released Wednesday with the usual lag. (Read the full minutes.)

As widely expected, the Fed kept the target federal funds for interbank lending in a range near zero at that meeting. In a statement, officials said rates will stay “exceptionally low…for an extended period” suggesting rates could stay where they are into next year.

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