NEW YORK – JULY 16: Pedestrians walk past the New York Stock Exchange July 16, 2002 in New York City. The Dow closed down in seven straight losing sessions, falling more than 900 points, despite some soothing words from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan about the economy. Investor concerns over earnings and recent corporate accounting scandals contributed to eight weeks of loss. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON (CBSMiami/CNN) – In an effort to get a handle on the worst inflation in America in the last 40 years, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates by a half-percentage point.
It’s the first time in 22 years that the central bank has hiked rates this much.
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In March, it ramped up its benchmark borrowing rate for the first time since late 2018, increasing it by a quarter-percentage point.
The central bank cited high inflation, as well as the strong labor market in its post-meeting statement.
Americans are struggling with rising costs everywhere from the grocery store to the gas pump. And with the Russia-Ukraine conflict still raging, price pressures on food and energy are unlikely to abate any time soon.
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“The implications for the US economy are highly uncertain,” the Fed statement said. “The invasion and related events are creating additional upward pressure on inflation and are likely to weigh on economic activity.”
The bank also warned that the pandemic-related lockdowns in China will likely weigh on already battered supply chains.
As of June, the Fed will also start rolling off its massive balance sheet, which got bloated during the pandemic. It will let $30 billion worth of Treasury securities and $17.5 billion worth of mortgage-backed securities run off every month between June and August, before upping these amounts to $60 billion and $35 billion, respectively, in September.
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