The Federal Reserve announced another interest rate hike of 75 basis points, raising the total rate to a range of 3.75% to 4%, the highest level in 15 years. "My colleagues and I are strongly committed to bringing inflation back down to our 2% goal," said Chair Jerome Powell during a news conference. "Restoring price stability will likely require maintaining a restrictive stance of policy for some time."
This is the fourth consecutive meeting the Fed has raised rates by 0.75%, and the sixth total rate hike of this year. "Typically, the Fed raises rates in quarter-point increments. But after having miscalculated in downplaying inflation last year as likely transitory, Powell has led the Fed to raise rates aggressively to try to slow borrowing and spending and ease price pressures," reads an article from AP News.
The Fed hinted to ongoing increases in order to bring the inflation rate down to 2%, which reached 8.2% in September. However, the pace of increases may slow, Powell said. "I've said at the last two press conferences that at some point it will become appropriate to slow the pace of increases. So that time is coming. And it may come as soon as the next meeting, or the one after that. No decision has been made. It's very premature, in my view, to talk about pausing our rate hikes. We have a way to go."