Federal Reserve policy-makers raised the US overnight bank lending rate by a quarter percentage point to 5.5 per cent and signaled they do not see a likelihood for further increases anytime soon.

'Although cost pressures appear generally contained, risks to sustainable growth persist,' the central bank's policy-setting Open Market Committee said in a statement.

The Fed's Board of Governors also voted to raise the more symbolic discount rate by 25 basis points to 5 per cent.