Federal Reserve officials have said they may need to raise interest rates “fairly soon” if the economy stays strong, minutes of their meeting show.
The first meeting of the Fed since Donald Trump took office as president discussed the possibility of a rate rise as early as March.
Most economists have been forecasting a rise in June.
However, Fed officials appear divided on the timing of a rise amid uncertainty over Mr Trump’s policies.
“Several” expressed fears that unemployment could fall substantially below the Fed’s 4.8% target. That could trigger inflation pressures and force the Fed to boost rates at a faster pace than financial markets expect.
Unemployment in December was 4.7%, although it was back at 4.8% in January.
Paul Ashworth, chief US economist at Capital Economics, said the “fairly soon”‘ phrase in the minutes “clearly leaves the door open to a March rate hike, although … we still think the Fed will delay until June”.
Read More: http://www.bbc.com/news/business-39059743
Source: BBC.com (24 FEbruary 2017)