The US Federal Reserve has announced it is ending its quantitative easing (QE) stimulus programme begun in 2008.
Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen Photo: AFP
The Fed said it was confident the US economic recovery was on track, despite weakness in the global economy.
The targets for inflation and reduction in unemployment were not under threat, the Fed said in a statement.
The central bank, which also said it would not raise interest rates for a "considerable time", has gradually cut back QE since last year.
'Sufficient strength'
The statement suggested that although the jobs market was strengthening, it was still not back to normal, which was why interest rates were being held.
"The Committee continues to see sufficient underlying strength in the broader economy to support ongoing progress toward maximum employment in a context of price stability," the Fed said in a statement.
Analysts said the news was broadly what they had expected.
"The Fed's announcement is exactly what everyone expected," said Wayne Kaufman, chief market analyst at Phoenix Financial, in New York.
"The Fed sees enough improvement in economic activity to end QE, but at the same time, it will keep low rates because it isn't yet seeing what it wants to see as far as inflation goes," he said.
US shares were down ahead of the statement and continued to drift lower after the news was announced.