The U.S. central bank has raised the benchmark interest rate for the third and final time this year, as widely expected.
 
The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday announced its decision to raise key interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point to a range of one-point-25 percent to one-point-50 percent. 
 
The Federal Open Markets Committee, the Fed's rate-setting body, said in a statement that it expects "economic activity will expand at a moderate pace and labor market conditions will remain strong." 
 
The Fed projected three more hikes next year. Chairperson Janet Yellen said that the committee expects the rate to move up to the Fed's two percent target "over the next couple of years."