Fed Minutes Show No Rush to Restart Rate Cuts

Minutes from the Federal Reserve's January meeting show officials signaled no rush to restart interest-rate cuts after pausing reductions last month. Several policymakers even raised the possibility of rate increases if inflation remained stubbornly high. The record highlighted sharp divisions at the Fed.

Some officials said there was still a path to lower rates this year if inflation fell as expected, while a larger group preferred holding policy until there was "clear indication that the progress of disinflation was firmly back on track." Several participants wanted the Fed to convey "the possibility that upward adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate could be appropriate if inflation remains at above-target levels." January's meeting, the first since July at which the Fed held rates steady, produced a 10-2 vote to maintain the 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent range; Christopher J.

Waller and Stephen I. Miran dissented in favor of a quarter-point cut.

United States

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