A 25 basis-point increase would bring the fed funds rate to 3.00 percent. The Fed has raised the rate in quarter-point increments at each of its seven meetings since last June, and some analysts expect it to continue raising the rate to 4 percent before pausing. "Will the Fed pause earlier than the 4 percent that was previously expected? Possibly, but at this time, there is nothing in the language from Fed governors to suggest that they are wavering in their inflation fighting talk," Craig Ferguson, senior currency strategist at ANZ Investment Bank in Melbourne said.