The Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised a key interest rate again, but it also signaled it was ready to pause and said further monetary tightening would depend on how inflation and the economy respond to sharply higher borrowing costs.

The quarter percentage point increase in the Fed’s benchmark interest rate put it in a range of 5%-5.25%, up from near zero just a little over a year ago. That’s the highest level since the Great Recession of 2008.

The…