UPDATE 2-Goldman sees low chance of Fed intermeeting move

(Updates with latest Goldman report)

NEW YORK, March 10 (Reuters) - The chance of an emergency interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve is low ahead of its March 18 policy meeting, after the Fed did not act on Monday, Goldman Sachs economists said.

"The chance of an intermeeting rate cut is fairly low, and is getting lower as we get closer to the meeting," said Andrew Tilton, a Goldman economist.

Traders had interpreted an earlier research note from the bank's economists to mean that the U.S. central bank could trim its federal funds target rate, currently at 3 percent, on Monday.

Financial markets have been on alert over an emergency Fed rate cut after last week's dismal economic reports including the government report of a second straight month of U.S. job losse. The Fed also announced new steps to inject $200 billion into the financial system as credit availability remains tight.

Goldman economists reiterated in a report released late onMonday that the Fed would trim the fed funds target by half percentage point at the March 18 and April 29-30 meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee "though a faster pace cannot be ruled out."

"Our comment this morning that an intermeeting rate cut was possible was not a change in this view but simply recognition that if the FOMC chose to act more quickly, this morning would have been a sensible time for this to occur," Goldman Sachs conomists wrote in the late Monday report.

In a Reuters poll of U.S. primary dealers conducted on Friday, all 20 including Goldman expected the Fed would pare the fed funds rate, or the overnight borrowing cost of surplus reserves between banks, by at least half a point at its policy meeting next week. (Reporting by Richard Leong, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)