Washington: The Federal Reserve (FED) of the US delivered another steep interest rate increase, as expected, with its move to cool red-hot inflation taking on more weight amid the political maelstrom ahead of key US midterm elections. The US central bank raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point, the fourth straight increase of that size and the sixth hike this year, in its all-out battle to tame inflation not seen since the 1980s. The Fed’s aggressive rate hikes this year so far have not had a noticeable impact on prices, but increase the risk the US economy could suffer an economic recession even as the job market remains strong.
