Federal Reserve officials expect to raise interest rates three times next year in a dramatic shift from their projections just three months ago, as the US central bank assumes a much more aggressive approach to taming surging inflation. These more hawkish interest rate forecasts was announced at the same time as the decision to double the pace of the ‘taper’ rate. From January, the Fed will begin cutting bond purchases by $30bn a month, meaning that current monetary stimulus should finish by the end of March. When the Fed finishes adding to the size of its balance sheet, they will have leeway to raise interest rates soon after. The main interest rate is staying at its historic lows of 0-0.25%, however it was signalled that there would be three rate hikes in 2022, with three more pencilled in for 2023, followed by two in 2024.