The US Federal Reserve will further slow the pace of its bond purchases because a strengthening US job market needs less support.
But it's offering no clear signal about when it will start raising its benchmark short-term rate.
The Fed's decision came in a statement it released on Wednesday after a two-day policy meeting.
Most economists think a rate increase is at least a year away despite signs of rising inflation.
Its statement was nearly identical to the one the Fed issued after its last meeting in April, reiterating its plan to keep short-term rates low "for a considerable time" after it ends its bond purchases, which have been intended to keep long-term loan rates low.
The Fed also downgraded its forecast for growth for 2014, acknowledging that a harsh winter had caused the economy to shrink in the January-March quarter.
It barely increased its forecast for inflation.
The Fed expects growth to be just 2.1 per cent to 2.3 per cent this year, down from 2.8 per cent to 3 per cent in its last projections in March.
It thinks inflation will be a slight 1.5 per cent to 1.7 per cent by year's end, near its earlier estimate.
It foresees the unemployment rate, now at 6.3 per cent, dipping to between 6 per cent and 6.1 per cent by the end of this year.
That's a slight improvement from the Fed's forecast in March, when it predicted that unemployment would be as high as 6.3 per cent at year's end.
The reaction in financial markets was muted, with stocks edged slightly higher, and bond yields remained about where they were before the Fed made its announcement.
The central bank's decision to further pare its bond buying means its monthly purchases of long-term bonds will be reduced from $US45 billion ($A48.7 billion) to $US35 billion starting in July.
It marked the fifth cut in the purchases since December as the Fed slows the support it's providing the economy.
The bond buying is expected to end altogether by fall.
The Fed's statement was approved on an 11-0 vote, with support from the Fed's three newest members: Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer, board member Lael Brainard and Loretta Mester, the new president of the Fed's regional bank in Cleveland.
The slight changes in the Fed's statement pointed to signs of a strengthening economy now that a brutal winter has passed.
The statement said economic activity had "rebounded," with gains in the job market, household spending and business investment.
The statement signalled no concern about the recent acceleration in inflation.
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