Fed Raises Rates

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by another 25 basis points yesterday, and signaled that it may take a break from further increases for the time being, according to The Wall Street Journal (subscription).

The details: “The unanimous decision marked the Fed’s 10th consecutive rate increase aimed at battling inflation and brings its benchmark federal-funds rate to a range between 5% and 5.25%, a 16-year high.”

It has raised the benchmark federal-funds rate by 5 percentage points from its near-0 level in March 2022, in the fastest series of hikes since the 1980s.

A pause? “‘People did talk about pausing, but not so much at this meeting,’ Fed Chair Jerome Powell said at a news conference. ‘We feel like we’re getting closer or maybe even there.’”

“Mr. Powell indicated that . . . officials would need to see signs of stronger-than-expected growth, hiring and inflation to continue raising rates.”

Stay tuned: The Fed’s next meeting is June 13-14.