US interest rates rise to 2.75%
{{date|March 22, 2005}}
[[Image:Federal Reserve.jpg|180px|right|U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates]]
The [[w:Federal Reserve|U.S. Federal Reserve]] (Fed) today raised interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point to 2.75 percent. The increase in the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, is seen as an anti-inflationary measure and was widely expected by the financial community.

It is the seventh time the Fed has raised interest rates since June [[w:2004|2004]] when rates stood at just 1 percent -- a 46-year low.

The U.S. economy has been gaining strength since the economic downturn in 2001 and 2002. The rebound was largely fueled by historically low interest rates which enabled consumers to borrow much more money than they would have otherwise -- thus boosting personal consumption.

==Sources==

*{{source|url=http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D89070HO1.htm?campaign_id=apn_home_down| title=Fed delivers 7th quarter-point rate hike| author=Martain Crutsinger of The Associated Press, via |pub=Business Week|date=March 22, 2005}}
*{{source|url=http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=604489| title=Fed Delivers 7th Quarter-Point Rate Hike | author=[[Associated Press|AP]] |pub=ABC News (US)|date=March 22, 2005
 |brokenURL=true
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20050323020038/http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory?id=604489
 |archivedescription=Archived from the original on March 23, 2005 via the Internet Archive
}}
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4373687.stm| title= US interest rates climb to 2.75% | author= |pub=BBC News|date=March 22, 2005}}

{{archive}}
[[Category:Economy and business]]
[[Category:United States]]
[[Category:Published]]
U.S. Federal Reserve raises interest rates
The U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) today raised interest rates by 0.25 of a percentage point to 2.75 percent. The increase in the federal funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, is seen as an anti-inflationary measure and was widely expected by the financial community.

It is the seventh time the Fed has raised interest rates since June 2004 when rates stood at just 1 percent -- a 46-year low.

The U.S. economy has been gaining strength since the economic downturn in 2001 and 2002. The rebound was largely fueled by historically low interest rates which enabled consumers to borrow much more money than they would have otherwise -- thus boosting personal consumption.
Economy and business United States Published