The Federal Reserve raised the benchmark federal funds rate by 75 basis points to a new target range of 3 to 3.25 percent on Wednesday, matching market expectations.
This is the third consecutive three-quarter point rate hike, as the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lifted interest rates to their highest levels since 2008.
Markets had widely anticipated that the Fed was going to pull the trigger on a 75-basis-point rate hike. Because of a higher-than-expected August inflation report, there was some expectation that the Fed could surprise everyone and move ahead with a supersized 100-basis-point increase to the fed funds rate.
The central bank’s dot-plot—a chart of rate-setting Committee members’ projections for interest rates—was revised upward….