
The U.S. Federal Reserve raised interest rates for only the third time this decade at its March 15 meeting. The policy rate now stands at 0.75-1%. The hike itself was heavily discounted, but markets were tuned in to the Federal Open Market Committee's hints as to what might happen next. The Fed now expects interest rates to increase twice more this year, with the median projection rising to 1.4% at the end of the year, and then to just over 2% at the end of 2018.