Inflation has been a persistent problem since 2021, and the Federal Reserve has been committed to bringing inflation levels down. Beginning in early 2022, it began raising its benchmark interest rate in an attempt to cool inflation. It then continued to raise interest rates in the course of its next 10 consecutive meetings before taking a break from rate hikes in June in response to cooling inflation.
But on July 26, the Fed announced it would be raising interest rates once again, this time by a quarter of a point. And while that’s not a particularly drastic rate hike on its own, it could be enough to wreak havoc on consumers.
This post originally appeared at The Motley Fool.