Fed is expected to remain 'patient' about a first rate hike

WASHINGTON (AP) — As the Federal Reserve ends its latest policy meeting today, it is widely expected to repeat the pledge it made in December: That it will be "patient" in raising interest rates from record lows.

That pledge could endure well into 2015.

The U.S. economy has steadily improved. Yet inflation has dipped further below the Fed's target rate, thanks to plunging oil prices and a surging dollar. The stronger dollar makes foreign goods cheaper in the United States.

The statement that Chairwoman Janet Yellen and her colleagues will issue after the meeting will be scrutinized for any possible clues to a shift in Fed policy. The statement will be all that investors will have to digest because there will be no Yellen news conference after this meeting and no updates to the Fed's economic forecasts.

At the Fed's last meeting in December, its statement said officials thought they could be "patient" in moving to raise their key short-term rate, which has been kept at a record low near zero for six years.