Fed officials shied away in July from planning future interest-rate cuts
wo officials wanted a half-point reduction in July, according to minutes of meeting
Federal Reserve officials at their meeting on July 30-31 agreed to cut short-term interest rates but shied away from saying how many more easing steps they might be willing to support this year.
Instead, officials opted for a meeting-by-meeting approach to upcoming interest-rate decisions.
The minutes of the July meeting, released Wednesday, reveal that the Fed governors and regional bank presidents generally favored an approach “that avoided any appearance of following a preset course.”
Voting Fed members said “it was important to maintain optionality in setting policy.”
There was a clear split among committee members about whether to ease in July.
Two Fed officials would have preferred a half-point rate cut ,while “several” wanted no move at all.
