Federal Reserve minutes: Officials saw inflation slowing but will monitor data to ensure progress

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials concluded earlier this month that inflation was steadily falling and agreed to closely monitor incoming data to ensure that the pace of price increases would continue slowing toward their 2% target, according to the minutes of the meeting. As a result, the policymakers decided to leave their key benchmark rate unchanged but to keep it elevated for an extended period. The officials agreed that they would  raise their key rate again if incoming economic data “indicated that progress” toward the 2% target “was insufficient.” That suggests that inflation would need to shift into a higher gear for the Fed to raise rates again.