Federal Reserve policymakers voted on Dec. 14 to raise the benchmark federal funds rate by 50 basis points to a target range between 4.25 percent and 4.5 percent, the highest level since late 2007.
The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) has boosted interest rates seven times since March, totaling 425 basis points.
During a post-meeting press conference, Fed Chair Jerome Powell warned that there is still a long way to go in the fight against inflation. Most officials now anticipate raising rates above 5 percent next year, which is higher than previously projected.
“I wouldn’t see us considering rate cuts until the committee is confident that inflation is moving down to 2 percent in a sustained way,” Powell said….