What does the US interest rates rise mean?

The benchmark Federal Funds Rate has been raised to 0.25 to 0.5pc, from a previous target of 0 to 0.25pc.

^{US Federal Reserve}

All ten members of the Federal Open Market Committee voted to tighten policy.

As expected, policymakers have stressed that future increases will be slow, with "gradual adjustments" expected to help the economy.