Many U.S. Federal Reserve officials were leaning against another rate cut in December, meeting minutes showed, a move sure to infuriate President Donald Trump as he pushes for lower rates.
The minutes come amid heightened uncertainty surrounding the economic outlook, with policymakers recognizing risks to the jobs market and concerns that inflation could be more persistent than expected -- even after the impact from Trump's tariffs fade.
"Many participants suggested that, under their economic outlooks, it would likely be appropriate to keep the target range unchanged for the rest of the year," according to the minutes of the Oct. 28-29 gathering.
At the meeting, Fed officials had voted to make a second straight interest rate cut this year, bringing the benchmark lending rate to a range between 3.75-4 percent.
But Fed Chair Jerome Powell said shortly after unveiling the decision last month that a further reduction in December was "not a foregone conclusion."
According to meeting minutes released on Nov. 19, "participants expressed strongly differing views about what policy decision would most likely be appropriate" in December.
While "most participants" found that further rate cuts would likely be appropriate over time, several indicated that they did not necessarily view another 25 basis point reduction as the best choice for the upcoming meeting.
Any decision to keep rates steady is likely to anger Trump, who said Wednesday he would "love to fire" Powell and urged Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to "work on" the central bank chief.
