(A hill) — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, the latest in a series of aggressive moves to tame stubborn inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — the group of Fed officials responsible for monetary policy — on Wednesday raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point to a range of 3 percent to 3.25 percent.

This is the Fed’s fifth rate hike since March and the third straight FOMC meeting to end with a 75 basis point rate hike.

The Fed had long been expected to hike another 75 basis points in September as inflation continued to rise for most of the summer and lingered near four-decade highs. While monthly price gains slowed slightly, the annual consumer price index inflation rate of 8.2 percent in August was close to a level not seen since the late 1970s.

Fed officials faced some pressure to hike by a full percentage point in the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s meeting after consumer prices rose again in August. Financial markets saw a roughly 20 percent change in the 1 percentage point rate in the hours before the FOMC meeting concluded on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch toolwhich tracks where traders expect the Fed to set interest rates.

Even so, the Fed stuck to its plan for a 0.75 percentage point hike, which bank officials described as an urgent but measured effort to quell inflation.

“Inflation remains high, reflecting supply-demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher food and energy prices, and broader price pressures,” the FOMC said in a statement.

The Fed quickly raised interest rates from near-zero levels set in 2020 as the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic turned the economy around. The bank aims to reduce inflation before it gets out of control by slowing the economy enough to reduce spending on goods and services.

Fed officials and many economists had hoped the bank would be able to slow the economy and contain inflation without disrupting strong job growth, low unemployment and steady economic growth. But experts say the likelihood of a recession in 2024 is growing.

“The Fed is in a very, very difficult position, in part because they have a very limited set of tools,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative.

“They have inflation coming from a constellation of sources,” Owens explained.

The Fed’s rate hikes have slowed the housing market, curbed some hiring and slowed economic growth. A combination of Fed action, supply chain normalization, and falling gas prices should eventually lead to lower inflation.

But inflation has eased slightly since the Fed began raising rates, and officials have vowed to keep raising rates until they see clear signs of a slowdown in price growth — a process that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged will bring “pain.”

“We’re seeing the expected effects of that,” Owens said. “It’s working, but it’s not the containment of price increases that we’re seeing.”

Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m

(A hill) — The Federal Reserve raised interest rates by three-quarters of a percentage point on Wednesday, the latest in a series of aggressive moves to tame stubborn inflation.

The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) — the group of Fed officials responsible for monetary policy — on Wednesday raised the benchmark interest rate by 0.75 percentage point to a range of 3 percent to 3.25 percent.

This is the Fed’s fifth rate hike since March and the third straight FOMC meeting to end with a 75 basis point rate hike.

The Fed had long been expected to hike another 75 basis points in September as inflation continued to rise for most of the summer and lingered near four-decade highs. While monthly price gains slowed slightly, the annual consumer price index inflation rate of 8.2 percent in August was close to a level not seen since the late 1970s.

Fed officials faced some pressure to hike by a full percentage point in the weeks leading up to Wednesday’s meeting after consumer prices rose again in August. Financial markets saw a roughly 20 percent change in the 1 percentage point rate in the hours before the FOMC meeting concluded on Wednesday, according to the CME FedWatch toolwhich tracks where traders expect the Fed to set interest rates.

Even so, the Fed stuck to its plan for a 0.75 percentage point hike, which bank officials described as an urgent but measured effort to quell inflation.

“Inflation remains high, reflecting supply-demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher food and energy prices, and broader price pressures,” the FOMC said in a statement.

The Fed quickly raised interest rates from near-zero levels set in 2020 as the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic turned the economy around. The bank aims to reduce inflation before it gets out of control by slowing the economy enough to reduce spending on goods and services.

Fed officials and many economists had hoped the bank would be able to slow the economy and contain inflation without disrupting strong job growth, low unemployment and steady economic growth. But experts say the likelihood of a recession in 2024 is growing.

“The Fed is in a very, very difficult position, in part because they have a very limited set of tools,” said Lindsay Owens, executive director of the Groundwork Collaborative.

“They have inflation coming from a constellation of sources,” Owens explained.

The Fed’s rate hikes have slowed the housing market, curbed some hiring and slowed economic growth. A combination of Fed action, supply chain normalization, and falling gas prices should eventually lead to lower inflation.

But inflation has eased slightly since the Fed began raising rates, and officials have vowed to keep raising rates until they see clear signs of a slowdown in price growth — a process that Fed Chairman Jerome Powell acknowledged will bring “pain.”

“We’re seeing the expected effects of that,” Owens said. “It’s working, but it’s not the containment of price increases that we’re seeing.”

Powell will hold a press conference at 2:30 p.m