美联储加息25个基点 预计明年加息三次

The Federal Reserve has raised short-term interest rates for the second time in a decade and forecast a faster pace of tightening in the coming year, as it responds to a US economy that has been gathering momentum and may receive further stimulus from Republican tax cuts.

美联储(Fed) 10年来第二次上调短期利率，并预期明年收紧的步伐将更快，这是对美国经济复苏势头增强且可能会进一步受到共和党减税政策刺激的回应。

With the US on the cusp of full employment and inflation gradually approaching the Fed’s target, the central bank raised the target range for its federal funds rate by a quarter-point to 0.5-0.75 per cent, as was widely expected in the financial markets. Following a long procession of downgrades to its interest-rate forecasts in recent quarters, the central bank’s policymakers penciled in a median projection of three quarter-point increases for 2017, up from two previously.

伴随美国走向充分就业且通胀逐渐接近美联储的目标，美国央行将联邦基金利率目标区间上调了25个基点，至0.5%-0.75%，与金融市场的普遍预期一致。在最近几个季度接连调降加息预测之后，美国央行的政策制定者对2017年加息次数的预估中值从之前的两次上调至三次，每次25个基点。

The decision to lift rates on Wednesday, which was unanimous, came in the Fed’s final meeting before president-elect Donald Trump is due to take office, and as Republicans contemplate tax-cutting plans that could add further fuel to the recovery.

周三一致通过的加息决定，是美联储在当选总统唐纳德·特朗普(Donald Trump)上任前的最后一次会议上做出的，同时共和党正在酝酿的减税计划有望进一步助推经济复苏。

In its post-meeting statement the Fed said it was raising rates in view of “realized and expected labour market conditions and inflation” while reiterating its existing guidance that increases will be “gradual”.

美联储在会后发表的声明中表示，加息的依据是“已实现的和预期的劳动力市场状况和通胀”，同时重申加息将“循序渐进”的现有指引。

It added that policy remained “accommodative” and that this would support “some” further strengthening of the labour market – words that suggested the central bank thinks it is closer to maximum employment.

美联储还表示，政策依然“宽松”，而这将支持劳动力市场进一步“有所”增强——这些措辞表明美国央行认为现在正接近充分就业。