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Last night, the US central bank, the Federal Reserve, raised the key interest rate by 0.75 percentage points at a time.

The Fed announced that it could raise interest rates by 0.75 percentage points again next month.



Correspondent Kim Jong-won from New York.



<Reporter> The



US Federal Reserve has decided to raise the key interest rate by 0.75 percentage points.



[Jerome Powell / Chairman of the U.S. Federal Reserve System: At the Fed Monetary Policy Meeting, we decided to raise the base rate by 0.75%p.

Also, it was decided that it would be appropriate to raise the interest rate further in the future.]



For the first time in 28 years since 1994, the US has taken the so-called 'giant step' to raise the base rate by 0.75%p at once, and the base rate is now 1.5%. It rose significantly to the level of 1.75%.



Even last month, when interest rates were raised by 0.5 percentage points at once, Fed Chairman Powell drew the line that there would be no 0.75 percentage points increase, but the record inflation rate far exceeded the Fed's expectations, and the result was a super strong precipitation.



Chairman Powell said he could take another giant step at the monetary policy meeting next month.



[Jerome Powell/Chairman of the US Federal Reserve: We raised interest rates by 0.75%p today, and there is a high probability that we will raise rates between 0.5 and 0.75%p next month.]



Meanwhile, President Biden, whose approval rating is soaring due to soaring inflation, even sent a letter of pressure to oil refineries to increase production in order to catch oil prices that are hitting new highs day by day.



[Carinne Jean-Pierre/White House Spokesperson: Oil companies must do everything they can to increase supply and lower oil prices.

But instead, they're focused on making record profits for American families.]



Today (16th) New York Stock Exchange closed higher in all three major indices on hopes that the Fed's superpower will ease inflation.