(FOX BUSINESS) – 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 its most aggressive tightening campaign since the 1980s.
The widely expected and 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 and slowing the economy.
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% 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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