US Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 per cent for only the third time in a decade. The central bank voted to raise its key rate target to a range of 0.75 per cent to 1 per cent. The Fed had been expected to raise rates after a robust February jobs report, solid pay gains, rising inflation and a dip in the unemployment rate to 4.7 per cent. Fed Chair Janet Yellen said, the committee judged that a modest increase in the rate is appropriate in light of the economy's solid progress.