The Federal Reserve remained on its easy-money course Wednesday, allaying market fears that it might start raising interest rates sooner than expected. Chair Janet Yellen reiterated that any move in rates will be "data-dependent" on not based on a calendar projection.
In a statement released following its two-day meeting, the U.S. central bank left largely intact key provisions, despite expectations in some quarters that it would indicate a tightening bias. It also cut its bond-buying program down to $15 billion a month and indicated quantitative easing will end in October.
The Fed's Open Market Committee did not remove language that said interest rates would rise "a considerable time" after the monthly bond-buying program ended.