Poised to raise interest rates Wednesday for a 10th time, Federal Reserve officials are facing two competing economic trends that could make their future rate decisions more difficult and treacherous. On the one hand, turmoil in the banking sector and political battles over the government's borrowing limit could weaken the economy if banks restrict lending and financial markets tumble on fears of a default on the nation's debt. Such anxieties would argue against further rate hikes, at least for now. On the other hand, inflation, while slowing, is persisting at a level far above the central bank’s 2% target rate, raising concerns that the Fed might have to further tighten credit to slow price increases. Additional rate hikes would follow — a trend that would lead to ever-higher borrowing rates and heighten the risk of a recession. MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/nation-world/fed-interest-rates/507-902ed4a6-9c9e-43ed-9725-00ba66ba28a5 ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay