Breaking: Fed Hikes Interest Rates 75 Points, Largest Increase Since 1994

The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by 75 basis points, the single largest increase in nearly thirty years as inflation soars.

The hike to the federal funds rate – the benchmark interest rate at which banks borrow and lend money to each other overnight, affecting money supply in the economy – was announced Wednesday, after a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee led by Chairman Jerome Powell. In the short-term, the Federal Reserve said that it would intend to bring the rate to a range of 1.5 percent to 1.75 percent.

Of the eight-member committee, seven voted in favor of the hike while one member, Esther George, President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, voted against the increase, prefering that it be 0.5 percent instead.

The hike is the largest since 1994, when then-Chairman Alan Greenspan led a similar increase in anticipation of high inflation during an economic recovery. Wednesday’s move has considerable implications on individual borrowing in the economy and will likely lead to higher interest rates on loans for consumers and businesses.

The move comes as inflation has reached its highest level in over 40 years, currently at 8.6 percent per the latest federal Consumer Price Index report. Previously, Powell had said that the Federal Reserve would do "whatever it takes" to curb inflation, with the bank signaling that more rate hikes were to come.

Fed Hikes Interest Rates 75 Points, Largest Increase Since 1994 Chairman Jerome Powell has said that the Fed will do ‘whatever it takes’ to curb inflation and ... READ MORE ADVERTISEMENT Follow Us & Share 19 West 44th Street, Suite 1701, New York, NY, 10036, USA Your Preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy View this e-mail in your browser.