WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Federal Reserve moved a step closer toward raising interest rates for the first time since 2000, saying strong economic and jobs growth has defused the deflationary threat that preoccupied the central bank for a year. The Fed's monetary-policy committee on Tuesday voted unanimously to keep the key federal funds rate at 1%, where it has been for the last 10 months. It indicated the risk of deflation has passed, saying prices are now just as likely to rise as fall. Still, the panel said it is likely to be "measured" about raising interest rates because inflation still is low. "Output is continuing to expand at a solid rate and hiring appears to have picked up," the Federal Open Market Committee said. But "at this juncture, with inflation low and resource use slack, the committee believes that policy accommodation can be removed at a pace that is likely to be measured." The phrase "likely to be measured" replaced an earlier formulation in which the committee said it "can be patient" about raising rates. "Although incoming inflation data have moved somewhat higher, long-term inflation expectations appear to have remained well contained," the committee said.