The U.S. Federal Reserve will continue to raise interest rates

That's what several members of the Federal Open Market Committee said at their last meeting in December, the Fed said in the minutes of the meeting released Wednesday. On December 14, the Fed announced a half-point increase in the policy rate, the seventh since March, leaving it in a range of 4.25% to 4.5%, its highest level in 15 years, since December 2007.