By Nicole Goodkind, CNN BusinessWhat seemed unfathomable just six months ago — a 75-basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve — has now happened twice in a row. At the conclusion of its July monetary policymaking meeting, members of the US central bank on Wednesday once again approved a supersized interest rate hike of three-quarters of a percentage point. Over the last three decades, the Fed has nudged its benchmark interest rate up or down by an average of 25 basis points, preferring to steer the economy at low speed. But surging inflation compelled the central bank last month to implement a rate hike of three times that size, marking the first time since 1994 that the Fed has rolled out a 75-basis-point increase. Wednesday’s rate hike represents the first time in modern Fed history that the central bank has raised interest rates by 75 basis points twice in a row.

Source: CNN July 27, 2022 19:32 UTC