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Fed raises a quarter point
As expected, central bank policy-makers make modest adjustment to key overnight lending rate.
June 30, 2004: 2:20 PM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The Federal Reserve raised its target for a key short-term interest rate by a quarter percentage point Wednesday, the first such increase in nearly four years, but a move widely expected on Wall Street.
At the end of a two-day policy meeting, central bankers raised their target for the fed funds rate, an overnight lending rate that influences other borrowing costs throughout the economy, to 1.25 percent from 1 percent, which had been the lowest level in more than 40 years. It was the first such increase since May 2000.
In the closely watched statement accompanying its decision, the Fed's policy committee noted improvement in the economy, including recently robust job growth, but continued to say it could be "measured" in raising rates. It added, however, that it was willing to move more aggressively if inflation data warranted it.