interest rates

The Federal Reserve in October will begin unwinding the extraordinary stimulus it used to battle the Great Recession. That means that over the long run, rates on car loans and mortgages could go up.

The Fed also said it is looking to increase rates three times in 2018, as inflation approaches the central bank's target annual rate of 2 percent and the unemployment rate appears stable.

The vote to nudge benchmark interest rates higher was unanimous, the central bank says. The rate moves from the current 0.25-0.50 percent to a range of 0.50 and 0.75 percent.

The Federal Reserve's thinking about interest rates may seem mysterious. But here are some graphs that should help you see where the central bank has been, and why it may be ready to raise rates.

Many construction companies are still recovering from the housing crash, and while buyers don't seem pressured by a looming Federal Reserve decision, higher rates would make mortgages less affordable.

Some economists say the Federal Reserve should leave rates alone, but many say super-low rates have big risks, too. They argue that the central bank needs to push rates back up to historic norms.