The Federal Reserve announced on the 2nd that it would raise the target range of the federal funds interest rate by 75 basis points to 3.75% to 4%. This is the fourth consecutive rate increase of 75 basis points by the Federal Reserve. The Federal Reserve issued a statement after the two-day monetary policy meeting on the same day, saying that recently, there has been a moderate growth in spending and production, a strong momentum of employment growth, and the unemployment rate remains at a low level, but the inflation rate remains high, reflecting the imbalance between supply and demand, rising food and energy prices, and broader price pressures related to the COVID-19 epidemic. The Russian Ukrainian conflict and related events have brought additional upward pressure on inflation and pressure on global economic activities. The Federal Reserve said in its statement that it would be appropriate to continue to raise the target range of the federal funds rate. When determining the pace of interest rate increase in the future, we will consider the cumulative tightening effect of monetary policy, the lag of the impact of monetary policy on economic activities and inflation, and the development of the economy and financial market. At the same time, the Federal Reserve will continue to reduce its holdings of government bonds, institutional debt and institutional mortgage-backed securities, and is firmly committed to the long-term goal of reducing the inflation rate to 2%. At the press conference held after the meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Powell said that restoring price stability may require maintaining a restrictive policy stance for a period of time. The Federal Reserve will remain firmly committed to the goal of reducing the inflation rate to 2%, adhere to the tightening policy until the inflation target is reached, and it is expected that it will be appropriate to continue to raise interest rates. Since March, the Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for six consecutive times, with a cumulative increase of 375 basis points. The US federal funds rate has risen to its highest level since January 2008. (Liu Xinshe)