The Federal Reserve yesterday took small steps in the direction of a more hawkish stance on rates, tweaking its guidance on future policy for the first time since March and shaving a token $25bn from planned asset purchases.

In a shift first foreshadowed in the FT, the US central bank edged away from a simple forecast that it expects to keep rates at "exceptionally low levels" for an "extended" period - commonly understood to mean at least six months.