U.S. Fed sought more evidence of cooling inflation, June minutes show

Federal Reserve officials said they were awaiting additional evidence that inflation is cooling and were divided on how long to keep interest rates elevated at their last policy meeting.

Minutes from the two-day Federal Open Market Committee gathering ended June 12 showed officials didn’t expect it would be appropriate to lower borrowing costs “until additional information had emerged to give them greater confidence that inflation” is on track to their 2 per cent goal.

The Fed has held its key policy rate in a target range of 5.25 per cent to 5.5 per cent — the highest level in more than two decades — since last July.

Officials at their last meeting dialed back the number of interest-rate cuts they see this year to just one, according to the median projection. Four policymakers, however, penciled in no cuts for 2024, while eight officials forecast two.