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Federal Reserve raises rates for the fourth time in 2018

Posted at 11:08 AM, Dec 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-12-19 14:08:20-05

The Federal Reserve on Wednesday voted to raise interest rates despite new signs of economic softening and weeks of market volatility.

Central bankers unanimously agreed under Chairman Jerome Powell to lift the federal funds rate, which controls the cost of mortgages, credit cards and other borrowing, to a range of 2.25% and 2.5%.

Interest rates have increased seven times since President Donald Trump took office. Four of those increases have been under Powell.

The policy decision comes even as Trump called on the Fed to move cautiously "before they make yet another mistake," shortly before policy makers began their two-day policy-setting meeting in Washington on Tuesday.