The U.S. Federal Reserve's policysetting Federal Open Market Committee is reverting to some one-day meetings in 2010 from all two-day sessions this year, the U.S. central bank said on Thursday.

The Fed issued a schedule for 2010 that indicates it will hold four two-day meetings and four one-day meetings to consider interest-rate policy next year.

The Fed had begun moving to two-day meetings in late 2008 as the financial crisis intensified and announced last February that all of its 2009 FOMC gatherings would be two-day ones. At the time, it said the move to two-day meetings was to allow additional time for discussion.

No specific reason was cited for moving back to some one-day meetings next year, but Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and others have said the crisis appears to be easing.

The schedule for the eight 2010 FOMC meetings is as follows: January 26-27, March 16, April 27-28, June 22-23, August 10, September 21, November 2-3 and December 14.

(Reporting by Glenn Somerville; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Ben Bernanke