The United States central bank's 75 basis point interest rate hike on Wednesday marks a significantly higher uptick in lending rates from pandemic lows than seen in many other countries. The American central bank's latest rate hike marks a cumulative 3 per cent (or 300 basis points) increase from its pandemic low. This is a higher cumulative increase than has been seen in the United Kingdom, the Eurozone and South Korea among others; including India. India has seen a 140 basis point increase. Brazil has seen an 1,175 percentage point increase in its benchmark interest rate. It has been 325 basis points for Russia. China’s interest rates are still headed down amid economic distress. South Korea, South Africa and the United Kingdom have all seen increases of more than 150 basis points while the Eurozone has seen a 125 basis point increase (chart 1).