US Federal Reserve considers final interest rate hike to tackle inflation

The US Federal Reserve has commenced a two-day meeting to determine if it will raise its benchmark lending rate for possibly the last time in this campaign, in an effort to tackle persistent inflation. Since March of last year, the Fed has embarked on a bold series of interest-rate hikes to address inflation, which currently stands at 5%, significantly higher than its long-term target of 2%.

Experts predict the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will increase its base rate by another 0.25% today. Analysts will be closely watching for any revisions to the FOMC’s forward guidance about future rate changes. As Goldman Sachs’ chief US economist David Mericle mentioned in a recent note, “We expect the committee to signal that it anticipates pausing in June but retains a hawkish bias.”

Futures traders also anticipate this move, with over a 95%…