美联储近十年来首次加息

 WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday decided¹ to raise benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, the first interest rate increase since 2006,marking the end of an era of extraordinary easing monetary² policy.

Given the considerable improvement in labor³ market conditions this year and it's reasonably confident that inflation will rise, the central bank decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 0.25-0.5 percent, the Fed said in a statement after concluding a two-day policy meeting on Wednesday.

According to the statement, in light of the current shortfall of inflation from the central bank's 2 percent target, the Fed expects that the developments of economic conditions will warrant "only gradual" increases in the benchmark interest rate.

U.S. Fed raises federal funds rate by 25bp, first rate hike since 2006

Fed officials expected the economy will continue to expand at a moderate pace and labor market will continue to strengthen, with the gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy.

According to a projection⁴ report released on Wednesday, Fed officials expected the U.S. economy will grow 2.4 percent in 2016, slightly higher than their September forecast of 2.3 percent. The unemployment rate will further fall to 4.7 percent in 2016, lower than their September forecast of 4.8 percent. 

1 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

2 monetary   

adj.货币的，钱的；通货的；金融的；财政的

参考例句：

• The monetary system of some countries used to be based on gold.过去有些国家的货币制度是金本位制的。
• Education in the wilderness is not a matter of monetary means.荒凉地区的教育不是钱财问题。

3 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

4 projection   

n.发射，计划，突出部分

参考例句：

• Projection takes place with a minimum of awareness or conscious control.投射在最少的知觉或意识控制下发生。
• The projection of increases in number of house-holds is correct.对户数增加的推算是正确的。