WASHINGTON—Despite President Donald Trump’s warnings, the Federal Reserve raised short-term interest rates by 25 basis points after its two-day policy meeting concluded Dec. 19. The Fed, however, struck a softer tone on rate hikes for 2019.
The move, which was broadly expected, puts the federal funds rate at a range of 2.25 percent to 2.50 percent. It’s the fourth increase this year and the ninth since the central bank started inching rates up from nearly zero percent three years ago.
