Fed confident in U.S. growth outlook, opens door wider to rate hike https://finance.yahoo.com/news/fed-confident-u-growth-outlook-190558655.html WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - - The Federal Reserve on Wednesday offered a strong signal that it was on track to raise interest rates sometime next year, dropping a pledge to keep them near zero for a "considerable time" in a show of confidence in the U.S. economy. Closing out a two-day meeting against a backdrop of solid domestic growth but trouble overseas, the U.S. central bank ditched its long-standing vow and instead said it would take a "patient" approach in deciding when to bump borrowing costs higher. In doing so, it looked beyond economic difficulties in the euro zone, Japan and Russia and offered a mostly upbeat assessment of the U.S. economy's prospects. "Based on its current assessment, the committee judges that it can be patient in beginning to normalise the stance of monetary policy," the Fed said in a statement. Significantly, the Fed said it viewed that statement as "consistent" with its previous language that it would be a considerable time before it hiked rates. While the growth outlook remained solid, Fed policymakers indicated that they would take a slower approach to the pace of future rate hikes, a nod to the still-weak inflation picture. The Fed dropped benchmark rates to near zero in December 2008 as it battled the financial crisis and deep recession.