US Federal Reserve officials are expected to approve a half-percentage-point interest rate increase at their meeting this week.

The monetary policy meeting, which starts on Tuesday, comes amid little indication of when inflationary pressures will ease in the United States.

The consumer price index rose 8.6 percent in May from the same month a year earlier, pushing inflation to its highest level in more than 40 years.

The expected half-percentage point rate increase at the June 14-15 meeting follows the Fed's quarter-point increase in March and half-point hike in May.

At the meeting, Fed officials are also set to release their projections of how much more they expect to raise rates.

Some analysts say the Fed may accelerate its plans to tighten financial conditions further by considering raising rates by 0.75 percentage point.

Experts largely attribute inflation to rising energy costs and a surge in wages driven by a dearth of workers.

It remains to be seen how the expected rate hike will affect foreign exchange markets, where the Japanese currency keeps losing its value against the dollar.