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Fed Minutes Signal Lower Rates in 2024 Yet Provide No Timetable
Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s December 2023 meeting, released Wednesday, show broad agreement that the central bank is done with raising interest rates, reported the Wall Street Journal. However, there was little discussion or consensus about when the Fed might begin lowering rates.
Some members of the Federal Open Market Committee revealed unease about leaving rates too high for too long. They highlighted “the downside risks to the economy that would be associated with an overly restrictive stance,” according to the minutes.
At the same time, others thought “circumstances might warrant keeping the target rate at its current value for longer than they currently anticipated,” according to the minutes. That could be necessary if inflation settled out too high above the Fed’s 2% target, Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin said in a speech Wednesday.
“A soft landing is increasingly conceivable but in no way inevitable,” Barkin said in Wednesday’s speech.
- ◦Economy
- ◦Policy/Gov't
