Federal Reserve Raises Rates for Second Time This Year

Federal Reserve Raises Rates for Second Time This Year

The Federal Reserve just voted to raise interest rates for the second time in 2018. The Federal Open Market Committee unanimously voted to increase the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 1.75% to 2%.

“Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in May indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been rising at a solid rate,” the committee stated after its meeting.

“Job gains have been strong, on average, in recent months, and the unemployment rate has declined. Recent data suggest that growth of household spending has picked up, while business fixed investment has continued to grow strongly,” the statement continued. “On a 12-month basis, both overall inflation and inflation for items other than food and energy have moved close to 2%. Indicators of longer-term inflation expectations are little changed, on balance.”

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