US Federal Reserve increases interest rate, first time in 2017
Interest rate goes up as predicted On Wednesday, 15 March 2017, the US Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by 0.25%. The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) was one vote short of a unanimous vote at 9-1, with Neel Kashkari, President of the Federal Reserve bank of Minneapolis casting the dissent vote. The FOMC voted to raise the key rate to a range of 0.75-1.0%. Policymakers have targeted to raise interest rates a total of 3 times this year.