Washington ? Cautiously upbeat, Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Wednesday there were mounting signs of an end to what has turned out to be one of the country’s mildest recessions. He said Americans shouldn’t anticipate a robust recovery.

This was an unusual recession, he said, in that consumers kept buying throughout.

That means their spending probably won’t rise as quickly as in past rebounds, Greenspan said, and total economic growth this year should be about half what it has averaged during the first year of previous recoveries.

The “recuperative powers of the U.S. economy … have been remarkable,” Greenspan said, noting the severe blow delivered by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He said businesses would be boosting production in coming months, providing the fuel to lift the country out of its downturn.

Greenspan said the fact that consumer spending, helped by low mortgage rates and attractive auto financing offers, had stayed strong in the months immediately following the attacks had helped make the recession a mild one.

Another promising sign: Businesses are beginning to invest more in high-tech equipment, an area that has been especially hard hit as companies were forced to cut capital spending to cope with the slump, Greenspan said.

Even so, the Federal Reserve expects the economy this year to grow by 2.5 percent to 3 percent, when measured from the fourth quarter of last year. That would represent about half the pace of the normal rebound from a recession.

The Fed’s forecast also sees unemployment, now at 5.6 percent, continuing to rise in the coming months. The reason: Companies will be reluctant to quickly hire back laid-off workers, which could hold down spending, Greenspan said.

Economists said the tone of Greenspan’s remarks made it all but certain that the Fed’s aggressive credit-easing campaign had drawn to a close. The fed cut interest rates 11 times last year.

Analysts say interest rates will hold steady in the months ahead, though some believe rates could begin to go up later this year, depending on the strength of the rebound.