Federal Reserve Announces Interest Rate Hike
WASHTINGTON, D.C. (CBS News) -- The Federal Reserve announced it is raising interest rates on Wednesday — a move to combat soaring inflation as the U.S. comes out of the pandemic and economic uncertainty in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The quarter-point hike comes as prices have risen at their fastest pace in 40 years. In a statement following the Federal Open Market Committee's two-day meeting, officials said the as committee "decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/4 to 1/2 percent and anticipates that ongoing increases in the target range will be appropriate."
The move does not come as a surprise. Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said at a congressional hearing earlier this month that he supports raising the federal funds rate by 0.25%.