Fed Minutes Show Most Officials Expect Additional Rate Cuts

A record of the Federal Reserve’s December meeting showed most officials see additional interest rate cuts as appropriate if inflation declines over time as expected. Yet, some officials made clear they believe rates should remain on hold “for some time” after the December gathering. Minutes of the Dec. 9-10 Federal Open Market Committee meeting continued to point to divisions among US central bankers and to the difficulty of their most recent decision. “A few of those who supported lowering the policy rate at this meeting indicated that the decision was finely balanced or that they could have supported keeping the target range unchanged,” the minutes said. Officials earlier this month voted 9-3 to lower their benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point for the third straight time, to a range of 3.5% to 3.75%. But they included a small change in their post-meeting statement that suggested officials were less certain about when the FOMC might cut rates again. Policymakers were also divided over the decision. Governor Stephen Miran voted against the action in favor of a half-point cut, while Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee and Kansas City’s Jeff Schmid dissented in favor of keeping rates unchanged. -------- Watch Bloomberg Radio LIVE on YouTube Weekdays 7am-6pm ET WATCH HERE: http://bit.ly/3vTiACF Follow us on X:   / bloombergradio   Subscribe to our Podcasts: Bloomberg Daybreak: http://bit.ly/3DWYoAN Bloomberg Surveillance: http://bit.ly/3OPtReI Bloomberg Intelligence: http://bit.ly/3YrBfOi Balance of Power: http://bit.ly/3OO8eLC Bloomberg Businessweek: http://bit.ly/3IPl60i Listen on Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with the Bloomberg Business app: Apple CarPlay: https://apple.co/486mghI Android Auto: https://bit.ly/49benZy Visit our YouTube channels: Bloomberg Podcasts:    / bloombergpodcasts   Bloomberg Television:    / @markets   Bloomberg Originals:    / bloomberg   Quicktake:    / @bloombergquicktake