FOMC Minutes: Members Split on April Rate Hike
Fed officials discussed an April rate hike, but some officials argued
against such a move, minutes of the FOMC March 15-16 meeting showed.
“Several
participants also argued for proceeding cautiously in reducing policy
accommodation because they saw the risks to the U.S. economy stemming
from developments abroad as tilted to the downside or because they were
concerned that longer-term inflation expectations might be slipping
lower, skewing the risks to the outlook for inflation to the downside”,
minutes said.
FOMC members agreed that “their ongoing assessments
of the data and the implications for the outlook, rather than calendar
dates, would determine the timing and pace of future adjustments to the
stance of monetary policy”.
Officials expressed a range of views
about the likelihood that incoming information would make an adjustment
appropriate at the time of their next meeting.
"Several
expressed the view that a cautious approach to raising rates would be
prudent or noted their concern that raising the target range as soon as
April would signal a sense of urgency they did not think appropriate",
while some other participants indicated that a hike at next meeting
"might well be warranted if the incoming economic data remained
consistent with their expectations for moderate growth in output,
further strengthening of the labor market, and inflation rising to 2
percent over the medium term."
(Market News Provided by FXstreet)
