The Fed on Wednesday, Feb. 2, raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point and gave little indication it is nearing the end of this hiking cycle.
Aligning with market expectations, the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee boosted the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point. That takes it to a target range of 4.5%-4.75%, the highest since October 2007.
While it was raising its benchmark rate, the committee characterized economic growth as “modest” though it noted only that unemployment “has remained low.”
The move marked the eighth increase in a process that began in March 2022 to bring down inflation. Learn more.