WASHINGTON (AP) &045; It is now 10 and counting. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates 10 consecutive times over the past 14 months, and more rate hikes appear to be on the way.

That means borrowers will pay more for home mortgages, auto loans and other types of credit.

Immediately after the Fed announced Tuesday it was raising a key short-term rate by one-quarter percentage point to 3.5 percent, commercial banks announced they were raising their prime lending rate by one-quarter point.

That pushed the prime &045; the benchmark for millions of consumer and business loans &045; up to 6.5 percent, the highest level in nearly four years. If economists’ predictions are correct about further Fed rate hikes, the prime will be at 7.25 percent by the end of this year.

Many analysts predict, based on the Fed’s comments Tuesday, that the central bank will boost rates at each of this year’s last three meetings, on Sept. 20, Nov. 1 and Dec. 13.

&uot;They are pretty much telling us that they have raised rates and they are going to raise them again,&uot; said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s in New York.

The Fed acted against a backdrop of a strong economic growth, as measured by the gross domestic product, that many forecasters expect to top 4 percent this quarter, even in the face of record high oil prices.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan and his colleagues, in a statement explaining the rate increase, said economic growth has strengthened despite the pressures posed by rising energy prices.

The Fed stated that inflation outside of energy and food has been &uot;relatively low,&uot; but it repeated a worry that &uot;pressures on inflation remain elevated.&uot;

The Fed continued to state that its interest rate policy is &uot;accommodative&uot; and future rate hikes can continue at &uot;a pace that is likely to be measured.&uot;