The US central bank signalled Wednesday that it would consider raising its benchmark interest rate at its June meeting, the first increase since the 2008 financial crisis.
But in a statement issued after a two-day meeting of its policy-making committee, the Federal Reserve also emphasized that it might still delay the decision until later this year.
The Fed's announcement moved the central bank to the verge of ending a period of more than six years in which it has held short-term interest rates near zero.
"The march toward higher rates reflects both the Fed's optimism that the economy no longer needs quite as much help from the central bank, and a sense of fatigue about its long-running campaign to encourage faster economic growth," the New York Times said.
