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Article: Up a notch; American interest rates.(Monetary policy)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- September 25, 2004
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2004 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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Musing about the next move?
As expected, the Fed raises rates again
ANOTHER Fed meeting, another rate rise. To no one's surprise, America's central bank lifted short-term interest rates by a quarter point on September 21st, to 1.75%. The Federal Reserve's policy-setting committee has pushed up rates by 25 basis points at each of its three last meetings, as part of a strategy, widely signalled to financial markets, of raising interest rates from their rock-bottom levels at a "measured" pace. There is uncertainty on Wall Street, however, about how high rates will eventually rise and, more immediately, about whether the Fed intends to take a breather soon.