Before the announcement, the market agreed there would be no increase or decrease - according to the analysis firm CME Group, the probability of an unchanged interest rate was just over 98 percent.
The decision was made by a vote of 11-1 and members signaled that there would be a reduction during the year.
"The implications for the U.S. economy of developments in the Middle East are uncertain," the Fed said in a statement, according to AFP.
