WASHINGTON — A new era of higher rates on home and car loans, steeper borrowing costs for businesses and the government — maybe even a bit more return for savers — is about to arrive.
That, at least, is the word from most economists. After another solid U.S. jobs report Friday, they say the Federal Reserve seems all but sure to raise its short-term interest rate next month after keeping it pinned near zero for nearly seven years.
It would be the Fed’s first rate hike since 2006. And it would end the aggressive campaign the central bank began after the 2008 financial crisis to save a teetering banking system and energize an ailing economy. While it could take months, the Fed’s moves should eventually drive up interest rates for mortgages, auto loans and other consumer and business borrowing.
“The most advertised and anticipated play” is a Fed rate hike in September, David Kotok, chief executive at money management firm Cumberland Advisors, said Friday after the July jobs report showed that employers added 215,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate held at a nearly normal 5.3 percent. “Markets, economists, and analysts expect it.”
