A 75-basis-point rate hike by the Federal Reserve, which appeared unthinkable just six months ago, has already occurred twice in a succession.
Members of the US central bank again approved a hefty interest rate increase of three-quarters of a percentage point last week at the conclusion of its July monetary decision meeting.
The Fed has shifted its benchmark interest rate by an average of 25 basis points during the past three decades, preferring to guide the economy at a slow pace.
However, escalating inflation forced the central bank to undertake a rate increase three times that magnitude last month, the first time the Fed has done so since 1994.
