Fed raises interest rate by 0.75% and leaves the question of lowering the rate hike open

The U.S. Federal Reserve hiked interest rates again Wednesday by three-quarters of a percentage point and warned that further increases in borrowing costs will be needed as part of its fight against inflation.

According to Reuters, the Fed's ambiguous statement leaves room for the U.S. central bank to raise rates at a slower pace in the future, ending a string of successive three-quarter percentage-point rate hikes in December and moving to more subdued hikes that could amount to half a percentage point.

At a news conference, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he did not want to mislead on the issue: even if policymakers reduce future hikes, he said, they are still undecided about how high to raise rates to curb inflation, and are determined to stay the course until the task is accomplished.

Regardless of how swiftly the Fed acts, Powell believes that there is "some way to go" for the target federal funds rate to reach a "sufficiently restraining" value capable of lowering the rate of inflation. The end point, however, "is very uncertain ... Over time, we will reach it."

According to Powell, the time is coming to reconsider the pace of rate hikes. He said it will probably happen as soon as the next meeting or the next. At this point, no decision has been made yet.