(NPR) One year after raising the benchmark interest rate for the first time in nearly a decade, the Federal Reserve is widely expected to nudge rates higher again Wednesday. The move would come as the unemployment rate has stayed below 5 percent for much of 2016.
Officials are expected to raise the federal funds rate by a quarter of a percentage point, moving from 0.25-0.50 percent to a range of 0.50 and 0.75 percent. More boosts would likely follow; consider that in June of 2006, the rate stood at 5.25 percent.
The rates decision will be announced at 2 p.m. ET; Fed Chair Janet Yellen will hold a news conference 30 minutes later. We'll update this post throughout the day.