U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen attends a news conference in Washington D.C., capital of the United States, on Sept. 20, 2017. (Xinhua/Yin Bogu)

WASHINGTON, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday kept the interest rate unchanged, but announced that it will start to unwind its 4.5-trillion-U.S. dollar balance sheet from October, a further step to end the loose monetary policy.

"Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in July indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising moderately so far this year," said the Fed in a statement released after its two-day monetary policy meeting.

The central bank said Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maris were expected to affect U.S. economy in the near term, while they would not alter the course of the economy in the medium term.

Fed officials continue to expect that the U.S. economy will expand at a moderate pace in the future.