Fed Meeting Minutes: Agreed to Maintain Interest Rates Unchanged, Economic Outlook Remains Uncertain

On August 20th local time, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting held on July 29th and 30th. The minutes show that the Federal Reserve agreed to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25%-4.5%. During the monetary policy discussion at this meeting, members unanimously agreed that although the net export fluctuations affected the data, recent indicators showed a slowdown in economic growth in the first half of the year. Inflation rates remain slightly high, and uncertainties in the economic outlook remain 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%. Federal Reserve Vice Chairman for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller voted against the decision to keep the benchmark rate unchanged, instead supporting a 25 basis point rate cut to prevent further weakness in the job market.