WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve signaled Wednesday that it may act sooner than previously planned to start dialing back the low-interest-rate policies that have helped fuel a swift rebound from the pandemic recession but have also coincided with rising inflation.

The Fed's policymakers forecast that they would raise their benchmark short-term rate — which affects many consumer and business loans, including mortgages and credit cards — twice by late 2023. They had previously estimated that no rate hike would occur before 2024.

At a news conference, Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed's polic...