U.S Federal Reserve Hikes Rates Again, Warns Of More Rises 

The US central bank has hiked interest rates again, and warned more rises will be necessary to rein in the rapid pace of price increases. <br />They agreed to lift the bank's key interest rate by 0.5 percentage points. <br />That pushed the target range for the Fed's benchmark rate to 4.25% - 4.5% - the highest rate in 15 years. But it was a smaller increase than in recent announcements. <br />Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell says the bank wanted to slow down to see how the economy is responding to the cumulative impact of the hikes, which have increased the cost of mortgages, car and business loans, and credit card debt. <br />He however warned that Wednesday's rise was still a historically large increase and we still have some way to go." <br />