The Fed largely shrugged off softer economic data in the May meeting statement, and markets will be tuning in for any change to this language, as well as any adjustment to the Fed's inflation outlook given that market-based inflation expectations have decreased slightly over the past month.
Fed chair Janet Yellen told reporters at a news conference it would take "a few years" to complete but insisted that overall policy was not on a pre-set course. Her term ends in February.
The US central bank's decision to revise a long-standing "policy normalisation" plan came as somewhat of a surprise given a series of weak inflation readings risked delaying its march toward tighter policy.
Greg McBride, an analyst with consumer financial site Bankrate.com, tells NPR's Yuki Noguchi that, taken together, the Fed's moves have caused home equity and vehicle loan rates to increase about 1 percentage point over the last two years.
CHINA: Government data showed retail sales in May rose 10.7 percent from a year earlier, a small gain over the 10.3 percent rate for the first four months of the year. The Standard & Poor's 500 index picked up 0.5 percent to 2,440.35. The latest set of dot plots from the Fed puts the fed funds rate at 2.125% by the end of 2018, while the market now expects the fed funds rate to be 1.50% at year-end 2018, down approximately 25 basis points (0.25%).
Looking forward, the Fed kept the door open to further gradual rate hikes. "After all, with the exchange rate stable, manat depositors are making strong gains in USD terms when the exchange rate is flat or lower (USD/AZN rate is lower), given the policy rate of 15 percent relative to the USA rate of 1 percent".
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She said residents of the block had expressed concerns about the safety of the building "over several years". Joe Walsh, 58, said he saw someone throw two children out of a window from the fifth or sixth floor.
Inflation on a 12-month basis is expected to remain somewhat below 2 percent in the near term but to stabilize around the Committee's 2 percent objective over the medium term. Facebook rose 1.5 percent to $150.68 while Microsoft gained 1.2 percent to $70.65.
Worries about the pace of global growth and weakness in markets for the commodities they produce drove a 5-per cent slide in the values of both Australia's and Canada's dollars between March and May. Good news: 30-year mortgage rates are still very low at about 3.9%.
Despite the increase - the fourth since December 2015 - interest rates remain near historic lows, but the move will mean higher borrowing costs for consumers. "They've been saying another rate hike after June, and the statement seems to underline that", said Ed Keon, portfolio manager and managing director at QMA.
Meanwhile, some market strategists believe U.S. National Economic Council Director Cohn could be a candidate for the post himself. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari voted against the increase.
The Fed also says it expects to begin reducing its balance sheet this year "provided the economy evolves broadly as anticipated". Minutes from the Fed's last meeting also said policymakers had backed a strategy of phasing out reinvestment of the proceeds of maturing securities. Fed officials project growth of roughly 2 percent in 2017.
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