The Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee agreed to keep its key rate unchanged at its meeting last month, though most officials were split over whether inflation is likely to stay elevated or whether it will cool once the Iran war winds down, according to minutes released Wednesday.
In the first set of minutes released under new chair Kevin Warsh, “many” of the 19 participants in the rate-setting committee's decisions said that the Fed's key rate would be unchanged from or slightly below its current level of 3.6% by the end of this year. But “many” also said that it would likely be higher by year-end.
Forecasts released after the meeting ended June 17 showed that half of the 18 policymakers who submitted projections supported lifting rates by the end of this year, while the other half supported keeping them unchanged, with one official supporting a cut. Warsh did not submit a forecast, reflecting his view that doing so can lock policymakers into a specific approach that is harder to change if the economy shifts direction.
