The Fed released its interest rate decision on Wednesday. The Fed kept its monetary policy unchanged.

The central bank said that the U.S. economy slowed down during the winter months, but the slowdown was driven by "transitory factors".

The Fed pointed out that consumer spending declined despite higher real incomes, which increased due to lower energy prices.

The Fed noted that it will start to hike its interest rate if there is further improvement in the labour market and if the central bank is confident that inflation will move back to its 2% target over the medium term.

The central bank expects the U.S. economy to expand moderately.

The Fed did not rule out the interest rate hike in June.