On August 20th local time, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting held on July 29th and 30th. The minutes showed that the Federal Reserve agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25% – 4.5%.
During the monetary policy discussion at this meeting, members agreed that, despite fluctuations in net exports affecting the data, recent indicators showed that economic activity growth had slowed in the first half of the year. The inflation rate remained slightly high, and uncertainty about the economic outlook was still high.
To support the committee’s goals, almost all members agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25% – 4.5%. The Federal Reserve’s supervisor of regulatory vice chairman, Michelle Bowman, and理事 Christopher Waller, voted against the decision to maintain the benchmark interest rate unchanged and supported a 25 basis point cut in interest rates to prevent further weakness in the job market. (By Liu Xiaoqian)