MOSCOW, May 3. /TASS/. The US Federal Reserve System acting as the national central bank has increased the base interest rate by 25 percentage point to the level of 5.00-5.25%, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said Wednesday after the meeting.

"The Committee seeks to achieve maximum employment and inflation at the rate of 2% over the longer run. In support of these goals, the Committee decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 5 to 5-1/4%," the regulator said in a statement.