The Federal Reserve Board of the United States ended its two-day monetary policy meeting on the 22nd, announcing a 25 basis point increase in the target range of the federal funds interest rate to between 4.75% and 5%, raising the interest rate to its highest level since September 2007. In a statement issued on the same day, the Federal Reserve said that recent indicators showed moderate growth in spending and production, and accelerated employment growth, but inflation remained high. To support employment maximization and a long-term inflation target of 2%, the Federal Reserve has decided to raise the target range of the federal funds rate to between 4.75% and 5%. The Federal Reserve will closely monitor new information and assess its impact on monetary policy, anticipating that "some additional policy tightening may be appropriate.". The Federal Reserve said recent developments could lead to tighter credit conditions for households and businesses, and put pressure on economic activity, employment, and inflation. The Fed is not yet certain about the extent of these impacts. In the future, the Federal Reserve will continue to pay high attention to inflation risks and firmly commit itself to the goal of restoring the inflation rate to 2%. If there are risks that may hinder the achievement of the target, the Federal Reserve will be prepared to appropriately adjust its monetary policy stance. The Federal Reserve also released its latest economic outlook forecast on the same day, predicting that the US economy will grow by 0.4% and 1.2% this year and next, respectively, down 0.1 and 0.4 percentage points from last December's forecasts. The Federal Reserve expects the US unemployment rate to be 4.5% this year, down 0.1 percentage points from previous forecasts, and the unemployment rate will rise to 4.6% next year. In terms of prices, the Federal Reserve expects inflation to rise to 3.3% this year, with a core inflation rate of 3.6% excluding food and energy prices, well above the 2% inflation target. Inflation is expected to slow to 2.5% next year. Based on economic outlook expectations, the vast majority of FOMC members believe that the federal funds rate may be higher than 5% this year. Among them, 10 members expect interest rates to rise to between 5% and 5.25% within the year. Most members expect the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in 2024. The 14 members expected interest rates to be below 4.75% next year. (Liao Xinshe)