The Federal Reserve of the United States (FED, in its acronym in English) increased this Wednesday its reference rates by
a quarter of a percentage point
.
In addition, he anticipated that he foresees new increases after this
eighth consecutive rise
, given an inflation that is moderating in the country governed by Joe Biden but that, they consider, "remains high."
With this update, Fed rates have now reached
a range of 4.50-4.75%.
"Recent indicators show moderate growth in spending and production," remarked the Fed's Monetary Policy Committee (FOMC) in a statement after a two-day meeting, the first of the year.
"Recent indicators point to subdued growth in spending and output. Job creation has been strong in recent months and the unemployment rate has remained low. Inflation has eased somewhat but remains high" , diagnosed the committee in a statement, in which they pointed to the Russia-Ukraine War as one of the reasons for the situation.
Jerome Powell, Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board.
AP Photo, File
The objective of the "restrictive" policy, they pointed out, is "to achieve maximum employment and an inflation rate of 2 percent in the long term."
This increase -expected in what was dubbed "super Wednesday"- implies the continuity in the tightening of monetary policy, after last December the entity raised rates by some 50 basic points.
The restrictions had been inaugurated in March, with a first increase of 25 points at rates close to zero, to recover the economy after the coronavirus pandemic.
In the midst of the Russian invasion of the Ukraine, the Federal Reserve raised the rate by 50 points in May.
He later applied 75-point raises four consecutive times.
Thus, after reaching a record in forty years of 9.1% last June, annual inflation in the United States began to moderate and last December it was 6.5%.
With information from AFP
DS
look too
The IMF takes the government data as good and forecasts inflation of 60% this year
Super Wednesday: the US FED defines a new rate hike