The US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) on Wednesday hiked its key interest rate by 25 basis points. This is the 11th since the US central bank launched its cycle of monetary tightening in March last year, after a brief pause in June. With this hike, the federal funds rate has risen to a range of 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent, its highest level since 2001, despite signs of slowing inflation., Economy News, Times Now