Fed hikes interest rates for second time this year

The Federal Reserve voted to increase interest rates by 25 basis points for the second time this year in the June meeting. 

The Federal Open Market Committee voted to increase the rates to just below 2% from the previous 1.75%. 

The Committee expects gradual increases in interest rates within the targeted range as economic activities grow and the labor sector expands. 

The inflation is expected to near the 2% target in the medium-term, paving the way for further policy tightening. 

Bets on a Fed rate hike reached 92.5% amongst futures analysts, with the market already pricing in the hike in the past week. 

The Fed expects US growth to clock in at 2.8% in 2018%, up 0.1% from their March forecasts.