Fed looked past weakness to press ahead on rate hike plan
Reuters
Published Apr 08, 2015 02:03PM ET
Fed looked past weakness to press ahead on rate hike plan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Federal Reserve officials acknowledged risks from overseas and a weak start to the year at their March meeting but remained confident enough in the strength of the recovery to continue laying the groundwork for an interest rate hike later this year, according to minutes from the meeting released on Wednesday.
The meeting concluded with the Fed opening the door to a June rate hike, and the minutes said that "several participants" went on record saying they expected upcoming economic data would warrant an initial rate increase that month.
But even those less certain about the June timing felt the economy had improved enough for the Fed to shift into a meeting-by-meeting assessment of whether rates should move higher.
Even in the face of a weak first quarter, "participants saw broad-based improvement in labor market conditions ... including strong gains in payroll employment ... While almost all participants noted potential risks to the economic outlook resulting from foreign economic and financial developments, most saw the risks to the outlook for economic growth and the labor market as nearly balanced," the minutes said.
Staff forecasts, meanwhile, projected that even though U.S. economic growth had slowed, it would remain strong enough to continue making progress towards the Fed's inflation and unemployment goals - particularly after the impact of a strong dollar and falling oil prices started to ease.
Get The News You Want
Written By: Reuters
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.