The US Central Bank is considering increasing interest rates because the economy has strengthened and Central Bank has believed,

美國中央銀行在考慮要升息，因為經濟正在復甦，而中央銀行認為：

there is a growing risk that inflation may eventually get out of control.

有一個潛在的風險，也就是通貨膨脹最終會不可收拾。

Currently interest rates are near zero and FED officials have stressed that the first increase would be small and following ones, gradual.

現在的利率逼近於零，而聯準會強調第一次的升息幅度不大，後續的升息也是漸進式上升。

The rate high would be the first since the 2008 financial crisis,

利率將會從2008年金融海嘯以來達到最高點，

and it may pave the way for the Bank of England to go the same way.

這舉動也可能為英格蘭銀行升息做為鋪路。

However, all the central banks in the Euro Zone, Japan, and China are unlikely to raise rates for quite some time,

然而，所有歐元區的中央銀行、還有日本以及中國在近期內不太可能會升息，

meaning that the year of cheap money globally is not completely over yet.

這意味今年還是可以用較低成本借錢。

Were the FED to hike rates, US consumers and businesses would face higher borrowing costs on their loans.

假如聯準會真的升息，美國的消費者、商業活動將會面對更高的借款成本。

The value of the dollar would rise as more investors would put money in the US chasing higher returns.

美元也會升值，因為更多的投資客會把錢投入美國市場，以獲得更高的利潤。

This matters for companies around the world that have borrowed in dollars, as they will find these loans harder to repay.

美元升值會影響世界上用美金貸款的公司，因為這會使他們更難以償還。

Then there is the question of the how financial markets would react, some fear there may be wide-spread panic,

這也會產生一個問題：金融市場會如何反應，有些人擔心這會造成全面性恐慌，

one thing that the FED exactly has been trying to avoid.

而這也是聯準會一直試著要避免的一件事。