The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point and signalled it may pause further increases, giving officials time to assess the fall-out from recent bank failures, wait on the resolution of a political stand-off over the US debt ceiling and monitor the course of inflation.
The unanimous decision lifted the US central bank’s benchmark overnight interest rate to the 5.00 per cent-5.25 per cent range, the Fed’s tenth consecutive increase since March 2022.
