May 3, 2023 2:03pm EDT
Fed raises interest rates a quarter point, hints at pause in inflation fight
Fed hikes interest rates to 16-year high, but signals end to tightening campaign
By Megan Henney FOXBusiness
The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a point, but opened the door to a long-awaited pause in the most aggressive tightening campaign since the 1980s.
The unanimous decision puts the key benchmark federal funds rate at a range of 5% to 5.25%, the highest since August 2007, from near zero a little more than one year ago. It marks the 10th consecutive rate increase aimed at combating high inflation.
But for the first time in a year, policymakers signaled that future rate increases are not a given, suggesting that additional policy moves will hinge on "incoming information."
"In determining the extent to which additional policy firming may be appropriate to return inflation to 2 percent over time, the Committee will take into account the cumulative tightening of monetary policy, the lags with which monetary policy affects economic activity and inflation, and economic and financial developments," the Fed said in its post-meeting statement.
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https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/fed-raises-interest-rates-quarter-point-may
