The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised a key interest rate to the highest level in more than five years but signaled that it may pause to assess the impact of its string of rate hikes.
The Fed boosted its target for the federal funds rate to 5 percent. The funds rate, the interest that banks charge each other, stood at a 46-year low of 1 percent when the central bank began raising rates in June 2004 to keep inflation under control.
