The U.S. Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark short-term interest rate for the first time in more than three years and forecast six more hikes this year in the fight against soaring inflation.

The Fed announced the first hike since December 2018 after a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC) on Wednesday.

The new target range is zero-point-25 percent to zero-point-50 percent, up one-quarter of a percentage point from the previous range of zero percent to zero-point-25 percent.

FOMC members projected the key rate to go around one-point-nine percent by the end of this year, implying six more quarter-point increases. They forecast the rate to rise to two-point-eight percent by the end of 2023, which means three or four more hikes next year.

The rate hike comes amid soaring inflation that has steadily hit new 40-year highs. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in a press conference that if the Fed concludes it would be proper to quicken the rate hikes, it would do so.