U.S. Fed hikes interest rates to fresh 14-year high

The U.S. central bank has approved another sharp rise in interest rates as it wrestles to rein in fast rising prices.

The Federal Reserve said it was raising its key interest rate by 0.75 percentage points, lifting it to its highest rate since early 2008.

The bank hopes pushing up borrowing costs will cool the economy and bring down price inflation.

The latest increase takes the bank's benchmark lending rate to 3.75% - 4%, a range that is the highest since January 2008.

Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell warned that rates were likely to move up again, saying that speculation that the bank might pause was "premature". "We still have some ways to go," he said at a press conference following the announcement.