AP Economics Writer WASHINGTON (AP) – The Federal Reserve pumped up its benchmark interest rate by three-quarters of a point for a fourth straight time but hinted that it could soon reduce the size of its rate hikes.
It was the Fed’s sixth rate hike this year – a streak that has made mortgages and other loans increasingly expensive and heightened the risk of a recession. The persistence of inflated prices and higher borrowing costs has undercut the ability of Democrats to campaign on the health of the job market as they try to maintain control of Congress.
Republican candidates have hammered Democrats on the punishing impact of inflation in the run-up to the midterm elections that will end Tuesday.
