In a widely anticipated move, the Federal Reserve’s rate-setting committee unanimously agreed to increase rates to 0.5%.

Rates in the US have been stuck firmly between zero and 0.25% since the 2008 downturn and have not been increased since 2006.

In a statement the Fed said: “The Committee judges that there has been considerable improvement in labor market conditions this year, and it is reasonably confident that inflation will rise, over the medium term, to its 2 percent objective.”

Click HERE to find out how a US interest rate rise will affect your investments.