Federal Reserve officials scaled back their projected interest-rate increases this year to zero and said they would end the drawdown of central bank bond holdings in September, sending benchmark Treasury yields to the lowest level in more than a year and bolstering market bets on a rate cut in 2019.

The median rate projection of Fed officials compared with two hikes in the December forecasts, which spooked investors at the time. In its statement following a two-day meeting in Washington, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) repeated January language that it will be “patient” amid “global economic and financial developments and muted inflation pressures.”

“Patient means that we see no need to rush to judgment,” Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said in a press conference after Wednesday's decision. “It may be some time before the outlook for jobs and inflation calls clearly for a change in policy.”