Mubasher: The Unites States Federal Reserve raised interest rates by 0.25% on Wednesday, to a target range of 1.25% to 1.50%, in a move that was highly expected.

The American monetary policymakers has also maintained their projections of a short-term acceleration in the US economic growth.

This was the final policy meeting of 2017, and also the final decision the Fed took under the leadership of its current chair Janet Yellen, whose term expires in February 2018.

The Fed has maintained its forecasts from September and projected three more interest hikes in each of 2018 and 2019.