FOMC Minutes Exhibit More Patience

Officials at the Federal Reserve are unlikely to raise interest rates soon, the latest minutes from the bank’s January meeting have revealed.

Policymakers worried about lower-than-expected inflation as well as slow wage growth in the US economy, the world’s largest.

The Fed has kept its benchmark interest rate at zero since late 2008, when it slashed rates to boost the economy.

Most observers do not expect a rate rise before this summer.

“Many participants indicated that their assessment of the balance of risks associated with the timing of the beginning of policy normalization had inclined them toward keeping [rates at zero] for a longer time,” the minutes said.

Although the US economy has been growing at a healthy rate, sluggish growth abroad combined with slower-than-expected wage increases have made policymakers wary of raising rates and unnecessarily stifling economic growth.

via BBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.