Some Fed officials could have backed no rate cut: Minutes
WASHINGTON
Minutes of the most recent Federal Reserve rate decision showed the scale of the division over interest rates, with some committee members expressing support for keeping rates unchanged.
At the meeting on Sept. 16 and 17, almost all voting members of the rate-setting committee ultimately voted to cut rates by a quarter percentage-point to between 4 and 4.25 percent, with Stephen Miran, a recent White House nominee, the lone official who supported a larger cut.
But other members indicated they would have supported making no cuts at all, before being talked out of this position.
"A few participants stated there was merit in keeping the federal funds rate unchanged at this meeting or that they could have supported such a decision," according to the Fed's minutes.
The close-to-uniform vote masked very different opinions on everything from inflation to the labor market, underscoring the challenges that Fed officials face in prioritizing tackling one side of the bank's mandate over the other.
"Uncertainty remained about the inflation effects of this year's increase in tariffs, though most participants expected these effects to be realized by the end of next year," the Fed's minutes noted.
"Most judged that it likely would be appropriate to ease policy further over the remainder of this year," the Fed said.
Futures traders currently see a probability of around 78 percent that the Fed will cut rates by another 50 basis points before the end of the year, according to data from CME Group.
