Federal Reserve officials look set to raise US interest rates today for a 15th straight time and could hint they see the increase as among the last.
Analysts are united in the expectation that the US central bank, in its first gathering under new chairman Ben Bernanke, will lift benchmark overnight lending rates a quarter-percentage point to 4.75 per cent in the latest step in a campaign to keep inflation at bay.
The central bank is expected to announce its rate decision around 7.15pm Irish time.
Although the course of rates was clear when the Fed began to lift borrowing costs in June 2004 from 1 per cent, it has become less certain with each successive step.
The US economy is growing solidly, but the housing market is cooling, and wage growth has yet to accelerate.
Economists are keen to see whether Mr Bernanke, a champion of central bank transparency who took over for long-serving Fed chief Alan Greenspan, thinks it worthwhile to tweak the central bank's message.
Although many analysts think the Fed's guidance will not change, some think officials could change "may" to "might" to hint chances of further hikes continue to dwindle.