The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building stands in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Monday, Aug. 13, 2018. Federal Reserve officials left U.S. interest rates unchanged in August and stuck with a plan to gradually lift borrowing costs amid strong growth that backs bets for a hike in September.
(Bloomberg) -- Here are key takeaways from minutes of the Federal Reserve's Sept. 19-20 meeting, released Wednesday:
- All Fed policymakers agreed that the central bank should “proceed carefully” on rate decisions, and incoming data would help determine whether another hike was needed in coming months; language suggests Fed keeping door open to holding borrowing costs steady again at next decision on Nov. 1
- All officials also agreed that rates should stay high for “some time” to keep bringing down inflation, with “several” policymakers seeking to shift focus of decisions and communications toward how long to keep rates high, rather than how high to raise rates
- While officials stressed inflation remained too high, sentiment shifted further toward judging risks as “two sided” — such as either too-high inflation or too-weak employment
- “Almost all” officials supported the decision to hold the benchmark rate in a 5.25%-5.5% target range, indicating the broader 19-member Federal Open Market Committee wasn't unanimous, compared with the 12-0 decision among voting members
For Bloomberg's TOPLive blog on the Fed minutes, click here
--With assistance from Craig Torres.
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