ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION).
STORY: Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said Wednesday that the policy making Federal Open Market Committee, "decided to make another reduction in the pace of asset purchases."
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday also renewed a pledge to keep interest rates near zero for a "considerable time" but it issued projections that suggested it may raise borrowing costs a bit quicker than it had been thinking a few months ago.
Many economists and traders had expected the central bank to alter the rate guidance it has provided since March, given generally improving data on the economy's performance.
But the Fed repeated its assurance that rates would stay ultra-low for a "considerable time" after a bond-buying stimulus program wraps up. The Fed announced a further $10 billion reduction in its monthly purchases, leaving the program on course to be shuttered next month.
The Fed also released a new blueprint for how it plans to ex
