Washington, DC (CNN) The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday in an aggressive move to tackle white-hot inflation that is plaguing the economy, frustrating consumers and stifling the Biden administration. It's the largest rate hike since 1994, and will affect millions of American businesses and households, pushing up the cost of borrowing for homes, cars and other loans in order to force a slowdown in the economy. Until this week, economists and investors had expected the Fed to raise its benchmark interest rate by half a point, the second such move in the last 22 years. However, after a disastrous inflation report on Friday revealed that price hikes are broadening across the entire economy, expectations rose for a more dramatic rate hike. In a post-meeting news conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged that a three-quarter-point rate hike "is an unusually large one."

Source: CNN June 15, 2022 21:38 UTC