The U.S. Federal Reserve raised its key interest rate by three-quarters of a percentage point for a second straight month in an effort to cool soaring inflation.

After a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee(FOMC) on Wednesday, the Fed said in a statement that it raised its benchmark short-term interest rate by zero-point-75 percentage points.

The new target range is two-point-25 percent to two-point-five percent, higher than South Korea's two-point-25 percent.

It marks the first time since February 2020 that the U.S. interest rate exceeds South Korea's.

The latest hike came a month after the Fed took the initial so-called "giant step," the biggest hike in 28 years since 1994 in the fight against inflation, which has steadily hit 40-year highs.

After the FOMC meeting, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said in a press conference that another "unusually large" increase in interest rates may be appropriate at the Federal Reserve's September meeting.