**WASHINGTON, D.C. (March 16, 2023)**
The Federal Reserve announced today that it is raising its benchmark interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point, to a range of 4.5% to 4.75%. This is the eighth interest rate hike since March 2022, as the Fed continues its aggressive campaign to combat inflation.
The decision was widely expected by economists, who had been signaling that the Fed would continue to raise rates in an effort to slow the pace of economic growth and bring inflation down to its target of 2%.
The Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index, rose 5.4% year-over-year in January, down from a peak of 7% in June 2022, but still well above the Fed’s target. The Fed has said that it will likely need to raise rates further to bring inflation down to its target.
In a statement accompanying the decision, the Fed said that .
