美聯儲自金融危機以來第三次加息

The US central bank has raised short-term interest rates for only the third time since the financial crisis, stepping up the pace of tightening as policymakers grow increasingly confident that America’s enduring recovery will lift inflation.

美聯儲(Fed)自金融危機以來第三次上調短期利率，加快了加息步伐，因政策制定者日益相信美國經濟復甦續航力不錯，將提升通脹。

The Federal Reserve raised the target range for the federal funds rate to 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent, in a move that has come earlier than markets were expecting as recently as last month.

美國央行將聯邦基金利率的目標區間上調至0.75%至1%，此舉早於上月市場預期。

Fed policymakers stuck with previous median projections that there will be a total of three increases in rates this year, defying predictions from some analysts that it would release a more aggressive set of rate-raising forecasts. One rate-setter — Neel Kashkari of the Minneapolis Fed — dissented from the vote for a rise, arguing in favour of unchanged rates.

美聯儲政策制定者堅持此前的預測中值：今年將總共加息3次，這與一些分析師的預測不符；他們原本預測，美聯儲將提出更激進的加息預測。一位利率決策者（明尼阿波利斯聯儲銀行(Minneapolis Fed)行長尼爾?卡什卡利(Neel Kashkari)）不同意加息，他主張維持利率不變。

In new language, the Fed’s statement also stressed that its inflation target is symmetric, in an acknowledgment that price growth could surpass its 2 per cent target without forcing the central bank to clamp down precipitately.

此外，美聯儲的聲明使用了新的措辭，強調其通脹目標是對稱的，這表明美聯儲承認，物價漲幅可能超出其2%的目標，卻不會迫使美聯儲大舉干預。

Treasury yields dived and the US dollar came under pressure immediately after the statement. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves inversely to price, fell by as much as 8.9 basis points to 2.511 per cent, its biggest intraday drop in two months. The 2-year yield was down 4.6 per cent at 1.330 per cent.

聲明公佈後，美國國債收益率隨即跳水，同時美元匯率面臨壓力。美國10年期國債收益率一度下跌10.7個基點，至2.9%，是自從去年11月9日（美國總統大選投票日之後的那一天）以來最大的日內跌幅。兩年期國債收益率下跌7.9%，至1.297%。

The dollar index, which gauges the buck against a basket of half a dozen peers, was down by 0.7 per cent, as expectations of four rate rises were dashed.

衡量美元兌一籃子6種其他貨幣匯率的美元指數下滑1.1%，因年內加息4次的預期破滅。