Federal Reserve Likely to Raise Federal Funds Rate for the First Time in Seven Years

On Wednesday the Federal Reserve is expected to raise the federal funds rate for the first time in seven years. The rate, which is a benchmark for the US financial system, has been at near zero levels since December 16, 2008. The Fed used the low rates to encourage spending and investment in an attempt to revive the US economy after the 2008 financial crisis. Now that the US economy has, in large part, recovered from the financial crisis, the Fed is expected to raise rates. The Federal Reserve meeting is set to begin at 2:00pm ET.

The following visualizations to highlight the federal funds rate over time, reserve balances with federal reserve banks, as well as unemployment and labor force participation rates. Also included below are two visualizations on how the Fed rate change could affect consumers through 30-year mortgage rates and bank prime rates.