Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes: The vast majority of decision-makers expect that September may be suitable for a rate cut, and inflation is likely to continue to decline

ChainCatcher news, the minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting released on Wednesday show that at the meeting on July 30-31, "the vast majority of participants" believed that if the data continued to meet expectations, it might be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting. They also noted that "many" Federal Reserve officials considered the stance on interest rates to be restrictive, and "some participants" believed that keeping interest rates unchanged amid ongoing inflationary pressures would mean that monetary policy would increasingly weigh on economic activity.

The minutes also indicated that although all Federal Reserve officials agreed to keep interest rates steady in July, "several" policymakers stated that the rise in the unemployment rate and progress in reducing inflation "provided a reasonable justification for lowering the target range by 25 basis points at this meeting, or that they might have voted in favor of a rate cut." The vast majority indicated that if economic data continued to meet expectations, a rate cut might be appropriate at the next meeting. Regarding the inflation outlook, participants assessed that recent data had strengthened their confidence in inflation's continued progress toward 2%. Almost all participants believed that the factors contributing to the recent slowdown in inflation could continue to exert downward pressure on inflation in the coming months.