As widely expected, the Federal Open Market Committee – the Federal Reserve's monetary policy arm – has raised rates for the third time in 2017, the fifth since June 2006. The rise was 25 basis points to 1,25-1,5%.
The US central bank communicated it at the end of its last meeting of the current year and the penultimate one for Governor Janet Yellen: the first woman to lead the Fed will end her four-year mandate at the beginning of next February, when the baton will be handed over to the Republican Jerome Powell (currently a member of the institute's board).
Only one meeting is scheduled before his farewell, scheduled for next January 30 and 31 and after which no press conference is scheduled. So today's conference is Yellen's last.
