The U.S. Federal Reserve raised the key interest rate again Wednesday and said more hikes are coming as it battles soaring prices.

It was the third consecutive increase of 0.75 percentage point by the Fed's policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), continuing the aggressive action to tamp down inflation that has soared to the highest in 40 years.

The increase takes the policy rate to 3.0-3.25 percent, and the FOMC said it "anticipates that ongoing increases... will be appropriate."

(With input from AFP)