WASHINGTON(National Times)- The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates in the world\u2019s largest economy by 25 basis points to tackle stubbornly high inflation, a move sure to anger President Donald Trump, who has demanded lower rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Fed\u2019s Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise rates to between 3.75 and 4.00 per cent, citing \u201celevated\u201d inflation and adding that the rate hike would support a \u201ctimelier return\u201d to its 2pc target for the metric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Addressing a press conference after the rate decision, US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh stre\u00adssed that the central bank\u2019s decision to raise interest rates, the first since 2023, was not influenced by financial markets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe made this decision today based on our assessment of the situation,\u201d Warsh told the press conference. \u201cI\u2019ll observe market prices and see what they have to say. But today was our decision.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that the central bank\u2019s independence comes from staying focused on its objectives, in comments that come amid political pressure for lower interest rates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cPart of the independence of the Federal Reserve is we stay in our lane,\u201d Warsh said. \u201cWe let people that do trade policy and fiscal policy stay in their lane too. That\u2019s how we can stand up here and call them the way we see them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur predominant focus is on the price stability side of our mandate. The plain fact is that inflation is too high, and has been for too long,\u201d he told a press conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A majority of Fed policymakers expect at least one more rate hike to be necessary before the end of the year, according to the central bank\u2019s Summary of Economic Projections, also published Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON(National Times)- The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates in the world\u2019s largest economy by 25 basis points to tackle stubbornly high inflation, a move sure to anger President Donald Trump, who has demanded lower rates. The Fed\u2019s Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise rates to between 3.75 and 4.00 per […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133220,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133219","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n