Is the Federal Reserve likely to raise interest rates this week?

Fed officials will unveil their latest interest rate move this week, following the September rate hike, the first in three years. The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet this week, when U.S. central bankers will decide whether to raise interest rates for the second time this year in a bid to subdue inflation. Most economists and Wall Street analysts expect the Fed to leave its benchmark rate unchanged at 3.75% to 4% when officials release the latest policy statement on Wednesday. Consumer prices have surged this year, with headline inflation across the U.S. rising at a 3.7% annual rate in September as energy costs jumped. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and gas categories, rose 2.6% from a year ago amid signs inflation could be seeping into the broader economy.

The Fed targets annual inflation of 2%. Gasoline prices, which have hovered above $4 a gallon for the last three months, accounted for more than half the September increase in consumer prices, according to the Labor Department. "Although the latest hot inflation readings and rise in inflation expectations will concern Fed officials, they still appear broadly intent on tightening policy at a measured pace," Thomas Ryan, senior North America economist at investor advisory firm Capital Economics, said in a recent research note. In September, the Fed raised the federal funds