Experts and investors expected that, as a result of the two-day meeting, the banking entity will announce on Wednesday a new rate hike to take the official interest rate ranging from 3 to 3.25%.

A 0,75% rise is expected – some specialists believed it could hit as much as 1% – becoming the fourth straight hike since last March and placing the rate at its highest level in the last 14 years.

Fed is relentless in its efforts to bring inflation rate down to 2% and to that end it will not hesitate to pass another “unusually large increase” in rates, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell said.

“We must act now frankly, forcefully, as we have been doing, and we must continue doing so until the job is utterly done,” he insisted.

Once prices are stabilized, at some point it will be advisable to moderate the rate hikes.

In short, latest inflation data showed that, even though the year-on-year consumer price index rate dropped by to 8.3%.

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