U.S. Fed increases base interest rate to 4.25-4.5%

The US Federal Reserve System acting as the national central bank has increased the base interest rate by 50 basis points to the level of 4.25-4.5% per annum, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said Wednesday after the meeting.

"The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run. In support of these goals, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 4-1/4 to 4-1/2%," it said.

"The Committee anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate in order to attain a stance of monetary policy that is sufficiently restrictive to return inflation to 2% over time," FOMC added.

The Federal Reserve is increasing the rate for the seventh time in a row since early 2022.