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With inflation still elusive and a host of questions surrounding an economy that just set a single-quarter record for growth, the Federal Reserve faces a choice of whether to wait for conditions to unfold further, or act now to provide some extra help.

Most market participants expect the Federal Open Market Committee to sit on its hands when it holds its policy meeting Wednesday and Thursday.

However, officials are expected to discuss the policy options open to them at this point, and with so much uncertainty surrounding the current situation it wouldn’t be that big of a surprise to see them make some kind of move.

“I just don’t see the benefits of waiting until December,” said Aneta Markowska, chief financial economist at Jefferies. “A lot has changed in the past two weeks. Almost all the worries they flagged in September have materialized or are in the process of materializing. So they don’t have the luxury of time anymore.”

That sense of urgency sounds incongruous with an economy that just recorded a 33.1% annualized GDP gain in the third quarter and one that has restored 11.4 million jobs since May and is in the midst of a housing boom.

However, economists at the Fed and elsewhere worry that the best of the gains are behind while the major tail wind of government stimulus funding has dried up. Rising coronavirus cases are sparking worries of renewed economic pressure as communities face pressure to reinstitute restrictions on businesses.

The Fed announced Friday it was easing some of the conditions around its Main Street Lending Program for small- and medium-sized businesses. The central bank slashed the minimum loan to $100,000 from $250,000 and eased the debt restrictions for applicants.

The Fed will be watching financial conditions closely in the coming days, and its meeting will conclude after a presidential election whose results could provide direction for how aggressive the fiscal stimulus might be.

Reference: CNBC