The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged on Wednesday and said it expected to start winding down its massive holdings of bonds "relatively soon" in a sign of confidence in the US economy. The US central bank kept its benchmark lending rate in a target range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent and said it was continuing the slow path of monetary tightening that has lifted rates by a percentage point since 2015. In a statement following a two-day policy meeting, the Fed's rate-setting committee indicated the economy was growing moderately and job gains had been solid.

It also noted that both overall inflation and a measure of underlying price gains had declined - trends which have worried some policymakers - but that it expected the economy to continue strengthening. "The committee expects to begin implementing its balance sheet normalization program relatively soon," the Fed said, adding that it would follow a plan outlined in June.

Copyright Reuters, 2017