Top officials of the U.S. central bank considered and then set aside a plan to take stronger action to bolster the faltering economic recovery.

The information comes from the minutes of the Federal Reserve's most recent meeting in late September, which were made public Wednesday after a delay of a couple of weeks.

Some officials of the Fed suggested a third major effort to buy up bonds with the goal of pushing down long-term interest rates and boosting economic growth.

But most members of the Federal Reserve opted for a smaller program that changed the kinds of assets held by the Fed. The maneuver is also intended to cut long-term interest rates, but is less controversial.

Later this week government experts will publish new economic data. Economists surveyed by news organizations predict the most recent data will show the U.S. budget and trade deficits worsened, while retail sales improved.