WASHINGTON, May 10 (Xinhua) -- The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark short-term rate on Wednesday by a quarter-percentage point to 5 percent, the highest level in five years.

    The rate hike marked the 16th consecutive action that the U.S. central bank has taken to tighten credit since June 2004 when its federal funds rate, the rate charged by commercial banks on overnight loans, stood at a 46-year low of one percent. Enditem