NO END IN SIGHT

Fed Increases Interest Rates to 22-Year High

After a one-month hiatus, the central bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter point on Wednesday.

After taking a one-month break, the Federal Reserve again raised interest rates on Wednesday despite inflation still showing signs of slowing. The central bank inched up its key interest rate by a quarter-point, to 5.5 percent, the highest in 22 years. The incremental increase comes after the Fed backed off in June to re-evaluate its hawkish approach. Since topping out at 9.1 percent last year, inflation fell to just 3 percent in June, down a percentage point from a month previous, according to the Consumer Price Index. But the current rate is still hovering above the Fed’s target of just 2 percent—and the central bank has hinted at the likelihood of more rate increases to come.