Fed meeting minutes: Officials tend to slow the pace of interest rate cuts, and risks of rising inflation increase

PANews reported on January 9 that according to the Financial Associated Press, on Wednesday local time, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its December monetary policy meeting on its official website. The minutes showed that given that the risk of inflation remains high, Fed officials took a new stance on interest rate cuts and decided to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts in the coming months. The minutes of the meeting stated that participants stated that the committee believed that the interest rate level was close to or at a point where it was appropriate to slow down the pace of interest rate cuts. They believe that the pace of interest rate cuts may slow down in the future and enter a more cautious operating stage.

And a series of factors indicate that in the current complex economic environment, Fed policymakers believe that it is necessary to carefully adjust monetary policy to avoid the possible negative effects of overly radical policy adjustments. For example, cutting interest rates too quickly could lead to a renewed rise in inflationary pressures. Participants expected inflation to continue moving toward 2%, although they noted that recent higher-than-expected inflation data, as well as the impact of potential changes in trade and immigration policy, suggested that the process may be longer than previously expected. Some participants noted that the disinflation process may have been temporarily stalled or pointed to possible risks.

"Fed spokesperson" Nick Timiraos pointed out that the Fed meeting minutes further showed that officials are generally willing to keep interest rates unchanged at the upcoming meeting at the end of this month. "Participants indicated that the Committee is at or near an appropriate level to slow the pace of policy easing," the minutes said. Officials believed that based on their current outlook for economic activity, the Fed is likely to continue to move at a slower pace than in recent months. rate cuts.