1st LD: U.S. Fed raises interest rate by 25 basis, third time this year

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points, the third such increase in 2017.

"In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the (Federal Open Market) Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1.25 to 1.5 percent," said the Fed in a statement after concluding two-day monetary policy meeting.

The central bank officials still envisioned three more rate hikes in 2018, unchanged from their forecast in September, according to the latest quarterly projections released on Wednesday. Enditem