US Federal Reserve raises interest rates for first time in 3 years, risking Trump’s ire

The Federal Reserve voted to raise interest rates for the first time in three years. In an attempt to address the persistently high inflation in the world's largest economy, the US Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 25 basis points. The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised interest rates in the world’s largest economy by a quarter of a percentage point to tackle stubbornly high inflation, a move sure to anger US President Donald Trump, who has demanded lower rates.

The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to raise rates to between 3.75 and 4.00 per cent, citing “elevated” inflation and adding that the rate hike would support a “timelier return” to its 2 per cent target for the metric. The Fed increased its benchmark rate by 0.25 percentage points to battle resurgent inflation driven by surging energy prices.