WASHINGTON, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised its benchmark interest rate by a half percentage point, marking the sharpest rate hike since 2000, as it takes more aggressive steps to rein in the highest inflation in four decades.

       The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the Fed's policy-making body, decided to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 0.75 to 1 percent, the Fed said in a statement after a two-day policy meeting.

       The committee also decided to begin reducing its holdings of Treasury securities and agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities on June 1, according to the statement.

       "Although overall economic activity edged down in the first quarter, household spending and business fixed investment remained strong," the Fed said. "Job gains have been robust in recent months, and the unemployment rate has declined substantially."

       "Inflation remains elevated, reflecting supply and demand imbalances related to the pandemic, higher energy prices, and broader price pressures," the Fed noted, adding that the Russia-Ukraine war and related events are creating "additional upward pressure" on inflation and are likely to weigh on economic activity.

       In a separate statement titled Plans for Reducing the Size of the Federal Reserve's Balance Sheet, the central bank said the committee intends to reduce the Fed's securities holdings over time in a "predictable manner" primarily by adjusting the amounts reinvested of principal payments received from securities held in the System Open Market Account (SOMA).

       Beginning on June 1, principal payments from securities held in the SOMA will be reinvested to the extent that they exceed monthly caps, the statement said.

       For Treasury securities, the cap will initially be set at 30 billion U.S. dollars per month and after three months will increase to 60 billion dollars per month, the statement noted.

       For agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities, the cap will initially be set at 17.5 billion dollars per month and after three months will increase to 35 billion dollars per month, according to the statement.