WASHINGTON—The Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates steady in June was unanimous, but behind the consensus, a growing divide has emerged over what comes next, the New York Times reported.
Minutes from the Fed’s June meeting, released Wednesday, highlighted strong support among policymakers—at least so far—for taking a cautious approach before resuming the interest rate cuts paused in January, the Times said.
Last month’s policy decision, which kept interest rates at 4.25% to 4.5%, was unanimously endorsed. According to the minutes, the decision reflected a widely held view that the Fed was “well positioned to wait for more clarity on the outlook for inflation and economic activity” given that the economy was still solid despite policy settings tuned to keep a lid on inflation, the Times reported.
However, the June meeting discussions made it clear that officials are increasingly divided over the direction interest rates should take in the months ahead, the Times concluded.