WASHINGTON: The US Federal Reserve is widely expected to raise its benchmark lending rate for a 10th — and possibly final — time on Wednesday, as it aims to bring down inflation while preventing fresh banking concerns from spreading.
The Fed resumed its two-day meeting Wednesday morning, and will publish its interest rate decision in the afternoon.
The US central bank began its aggressive campaign of interest-rate hikes in March last year, and has since raised rates nine times in a row to help target inflation stuck stubbornly high above its long-term target of two percent.
“Getting inflation back down to two…
