The Federal Open Market Committee raised the main U.S. interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 5%. The increase in the federal funds rate was largely expected by economists on Wall Street. In the 16th straight meeting with a quarter-point rate hike, the committee made only minor changes to its March statement. Additional increases "may yet be needed," the Fed said, even as the central bank forecasts economic growth to slow from the first quarter's 4.8% annual pace. But the FOMC statement added that the "extent and timing of any such firming will depend importantly on the evolution of the economic outlook as implied by incoming information." Economists said this opens the door for a possible pause. According to Ashraf Laidi, economist at Forexnews.com, "The Fed opted for maintaining its 'tightening bias', which is the responsible course of action considering uncertainty in energy prices and the dollar decline." "The language released with the hike was non-committal, leaving traders questioning where do we go from here," said Robert Firestone, economist at Alaron Futures and Options. "I commend the fed for it. Not giving in to outside pressure. Saying we are going to see what is happening and then make our decision," he added. "They have a bias toward tightening," said Paul Kasriel, director of economic research at Northern Trust Securities. "If we get strong data between now and June, they will go again."