The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday repeated that it keeps patient in beginning to normalize the stance of monetary policy.
Despite the weak global growth, the Fed said the economic activity in the U.S. has been expanding at a solid pace, compared to the wording of "at a moderate pace" in its December statement.
In a statement released after a two-day meeting of its Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday, the Fed dropped a clause from its December statement that the assurance of patience was consistent with its previous pledge to keep rates near zero for a "considerable time". The Fed has kept its benchmark short- term rate near zero since December 2008.