The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Dec. 16 that it will raise short-term interest rates to 0.25-0.5 percent from the current 0 to 0.25 percent, citing favorable economic conditions, according to an official press release from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The board voted unanimously in support of the measure and the decision was also accompanied by an official announcement that the U.S. rate hike path would be “gradual.” The Fed has kept interest rates, and therefore borrowing costs, low since the 2008 financial crisis and the hike is a reflection of the solid, sustained growth of the U.S. economy over the past few years.
This decision and its scale are historic and unprecedented in American History.
United States: Historic decision of the Federal Reserve
The U.S. Federal Reserve announced Dec. 16 that it will raise short-term interest rates to 0.25-0.5 percent from the current 0 to 0.25 percent, citing favorable economic conditions, according to an official press release from the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. The board voted unanimously in support of the measure and the […]
