Several Fed officials open to rate hike if inflation persists, show minutes

Several participants of the US Federal Reserve are open to more interest rate increases if inflation persists at an elevated level or rises further, according to minutes of the central bank's most recent meeting that was released Wednesday.

A number of participants, in addition, remarked that the Fed's monetary policy should stand ready to respond to unexpected economic weakness, it said.

"Inflation eased over the past year but remained elevated," said the minutes. "Members viewed the economic outlook as uncertain and agreed that they remained highly attentive to inflation risks."

Members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) agreed that it would be appropriate to begin interest rate cuts "until they have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent," it added.

The Fed on June 12 kept its federal funds rate unchanged between the 5.25% to 5.5% target range as widely expected, which is the highest in 23 years.

That was the fourth time the Fed has skipped a rate hike this year after skipping rate increases four times during 2023. The central bank last made a rate hike of 25 basis points on July 26 last year.