Federal Reserve officials said on Wednesday that they are considering raising interest rates in December, setting the stage for the first increase since 2006. Paramount to the decision will be the "realized and expected" progress that the economy makes over the next few weeks: the data that comes out and the way policy makers interpret those numbers.

Here are the six things to watch ahead of the central bank's next gathering, which takes place Dec. 15-16 in Washington.

1. Third-quarter GDP

Date: Oct. 29 and Nov. 24 (revisions)

Just a day after its October meeting, the Fed got the first details on how the economy fared in the third quarter. Gross domestic product rose 1.5 percent compared to a 3.9 percent increase in the prior three months, a Commerce Department report showed. That gain was in line with the 1.6 percent rate projected in a Bloomberg survey of economists. The slowdown came as companies reduced bloated stockpiles, so many economists say it will be short-lived. Revisions to these figures will be released on Nov. 24. While economic growth isn't explicitly part of the Fed's dual mandate of stable inflation and maximum employment, the strength of the economy matters hugely for those goals.