The Federal Reserve Could Raise Interest Rates in the U.S. for the First Time In Almost 10 Years

It’s possible that the Federal Reserve could be raising interest rates in the U.S. for the first time in almost ten years.

This, as it turns out, could pave the way for higher borrowing costs in Britain.

In an interview with the Daily Mail, Kaushik Basu, chief economist the World Bank, said an early rate hike in the U.S. risks triggering ‘panic and turmoil’ in emerging markets.

Getty Images

So what does this mean for us? This could be a blow to million of households who have enjoyed record-low mortgage rates in recent years.

As of this week, it’s still not known when the Federal Open Market Committee will act.  It was widely thought that they would come up with a decision at the end of its two-day meeting on Thursday. But experts believe the decision could be delayed to later in the year or even next year.

The last time interest rates rose in the U.S. happened back in 2006, and they’ve been frozen at 0.25 percent since December of 2008.