The U.S central bank imposed a fourth consecutive steep rise in its benchmark interest rate on Thursday amid calls to ease off on rate hikes that make it lot more expensive for businesses and consumers to borrow money.

The Federal Reserve increased the rate that drives most types of credit to four percent.

At the start of the year, it was near zero to help the U.S. recover from COVID.

But the Fed had to act aggressively to rein in rampant inflation.

And some Fed officials are now pushing its chair to limit further rises while others argue the inflation crisis hasn't been solved.

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