(BBC News) The U.S. central bank has raised interest rates to the highest level in 16 years as it battles to stabilize prices.
The Federal Reserve increased its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points — its 10th hike in 14 months.
The Fed signalled that Wednesday’s rise may be its last for a while.
The moves have pushed its benchmark rate to between 5% and 5.25% — up from near zero in March 2022.
Higher rates have sharply raised borrowing costs across the world’s largest economy, spurring a slowdown in sectors such as housing and playing a role in the recent failures of three U.S. banks.
“We’re no longer saying that we anticipate” additional interest rate increases, Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell said at a press conference after the announcement, calling it a “significant change.”
However, he refused to rule out further action, saying: “We’ll be driven by incoming data.”
The bank started raising interest rates aggressively last year when prices in the U.S. were soaring at the fastest pace in decades.
Central banks around the world have taken similar action.
