WASHINGTON — Citing the steady growth of the US economy, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday that it would increase its benchmark interest rate for just the second time since the 2008 financial crisis.

华盛顿——美联储周三表示，由于美国经济的稳定增长，它将提高基准利率，这是自2008年金融危机以来它第二次调高利率。

The widely expected decision moves the Fed’s benchmark rate to a range between 0.5 and 0.75 percent, still a very low level by historical standards.

这个未出许多人预料的决定将美联储的基准利率调整到了0.5%至0.75%的区间，不过以历史标准衡量，依然处在非常低的水平。

In announcing the decision, which followed a two-day meeting of the Fed’s policymaking committee, the central bank gave little indication that the election of Donald Trump has altered its economic outlook.

这个决定是在美联储决策委员会举行为期两天的会议之后宣布的，其中几乎看不到唐纳德•特朗普当选对央行的经济预期产生影响的迹象。

The Fed said it still expected a slow economic expansion, and it still expected to continue a slow march toward higher rates.

美联储表示，它预计经济还会缓慢增长，利率会继续缓慢提升。

Fed officials said they expected to raise rates three times in 2017.

美联储官员表示，他们预计会在2017年加息三次。

My colleagues and I are recognizing the considerable progress the economy has made, Janet L. Yellen, the Fed chairwoman, said at a news conference after the announcement.

我和同事意识到经济已经取得相当大的进步，美联储主席珍妮特•L•耶伦(Janet L. Yellen)在宣布调息消息之后举行的一场新闻发布会上讲。

We expect the economy will continue to perform well.

我们预计经济会继续表现良好。

The decision was taken by a unanimous vote of the 10 members of the Federal Open Market Committee, the first time in recent months the Fed has acted by consensus.

这项决策是由联邦公开市场委员会(Federal Open Market Committee)10名成员一致投票通过的，这是最近几个月美联储首次达成一致的行动。

The Fed is holding rates at low levels to support economic growth by encouraging borrowing and risk-taking.

美联储将利率维持在低水平，以便通过鼓励借贷和承担风险来支持经济增长。

The committee’s statement said it judged that the economy still needed help.

该委员会发声明称，据它判断，经济依然需要外力推动。

The Fed’s economic outlook was essentially unchanged from the last round of forecasts in September.

与今年9月份做出的上一轮预测相比，美联储的经济预期基本没有改变。

Fed officials continued to predict the economy would expand at an annual rate of about 2 percent for the next few years.

美联储官员依然预测经济在接下来的两年里会以每年大约2%的速度增长。

They expect little further decline in the unemployment rate, which stood at 4.6 percent in November.

他们预计失业率会进一步小幅下跌，这个数字在11月份是4.6%。

Inflation, meanwhile, is expected to reach 2 percent — the pace the Fed regards as healthy —

与此同时，通货膨胀预计达到2%，然后保持稳定。

and then stay there.

美联储认为这个速度是健康的。

If Republicans succeed in invigorating economic growth, however, the Fed is likely to raise rates more quickly.

然而，如果共和党人在刺激经济增长方面取得成功，美联储有可能更快调高利率。

The greater the stimulus, the faster interest rates are likely to rise.

刺激力度越大，调高利率的时间可能就越早。

Your expectation should depend very little on what you think that the FOMC is thinking and very much on your view of Trump policies and their macro effects, said Jon Faust, an economist at Johns Hopkins University and a former adviser to Yellen.

你们不要把预期建立在你们觉得联邦公开市场委员会在想什么的基础上，而应该主要依据你们对特朗普的政策及其宏观效应的看法，耶伦的前顾问、约翰-霍普金斯大学(Johns Hopkins University)经济学家乔恩•福斯特(Jon Faust)说。

Don’t focus on the Fed.

不要太关注美联储。

As James Carville regularly reminded the other Clinton on the campaign trail: It’s the economy, stupid.

就像詹姆斯•卡维尔(James Carville)在竞选活动中经常提醒另一位克林顿的：这是经济，傻瓜。