Fed expected to raise rates for first time in a year

FILE – In this Thursday, Nov. 17, 2016, file photo, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, before the Joint Economic Committee. AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File

WASHINGTON  — The Federal Reserve is expected to raise its key interest rate for the first time in a year when its policy meeting ends Wednesday.

The move would bring the rate from 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, likely nudging up the cost of some consumer and business loans. The Fed last increased rates in December a year ago, when it hiked its benchmark rate from a record low set at the depths of the 2008 financial crisis.

Attention Wednesday will revolve around what Fed official say about the pace of future rate increases against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s election. How the Fed manages its policies in coming months isn’t clear and might not be clear even after it issues a statement and Chair Janet Yellen holds a news conference.