Traders keep bets on October for first Fed rate hike

(Reuters) - U.S. short-term interest-rate futures contracts rose slightly after the Federal Reserve on Wednesday repeated a pledge to stay patient on monetary policy, suggesting a rate rise is no closer than June and could be even later.

The contracts now show that traders see a 66 percent chance that the first Fed rate hike will come in October 2015, based on CME FedWatch, which tracks rate hike expectations using its Fed funds futures contracts.

Before the Fed's post-meeting statement, traders saw a 65 percent chance of an October 2015 rate hike.

The Fed has kept short-term rates near zero since December 2008.

(Reporting by Ann Saphir; Editing by Chris Reese)