Fed raises interest rates amid criticism from Trump

(Image credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

last updated 19 December 2018

After weeks of stock market turbulence, the Federal Reserve has opted to raise interest rates by 0.25 percent, it announced Wednesday.

Wednesday's hike from 2.25 to 2.5 percent was expected, and was thought to be one reason markets have dropped for the past month. It also flies in the face of President Trump, who pushed the Fed to let things be amid "a very strong dollar and virtually no inflation" in a Monday tweet.

The Fed echoed Trump's assessment in its Wednesday press release, highlighting a strong labor market and growing economic activity. Still, the Fed, chaired by Trump-appointee Jerome Powell, said a rate hike would "foster maximum employment and price stability." It also predicted Americans will see two rate hikes in 2019, a "sign of more caution" after previously predicting three hikes, The Washington Post writes. Wednesday's rate hike was the fourth this year, with the last one coming in September. See all the changes from November's Fed statement to this month at The Wall Street Journal.

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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.