The US central bank, as widely expected, voted Wednesday to raise interest rates by another quarter point to between 1 and 1.25 per cent.
“The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant gradual increases in the federal funds rate,” the Fed’s rate-setting committee said in a statement.
Its latest forecasts indicate one more rate hike in 2017 and a further three in 2018.
The Fed, chaired by Janet Yellen, also said it was preparing to start reducing its $4,500bn balance sheet later in 2017, although it didn’t give a specific date.
