The rate setting-panel for the Federal Reserve began its second meeting of the year today, with financial markets expecting a seventh straight quarter-percentage point interest rate increase.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) is expected at about 7.15 p.m. this evening to announce another quarter-percentage point rise in the bellwether federal funds rate - to 2.75 per cent.
With a rate rise seen as likely, financial market interest hinges on the language the Fed uses to explain its action.
The question is whether policymakers are considering scrapping a forward-looking pledge to keep raising rates only at a "measured" pace - wording adopted in May and taken as meaning modest quarter-point rises.
Hefty oil prices that topped $57 a barrel yesterday before retreating and some signs of upward pressure on producer and consumer prices at the start of the year are raising concern in some quarters about inflation risks.
In June last year, the Fed began to gradually raise interest rates to a level it considers neutral - one that neither hinders growth nor fosters inflation.
