While Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Esther George was the only voter to dissent at the latest Federal Open Market Committee meeting, minutes show she was not alone in wanting a rate hike.
While “most participants” favored no change in rates, the minutes say, "[a] couple of participants, however, saw an increase in the target range to 1/2 to 3/4 percent as appropriate at this meeting.”
Those wanting to hike argued moving too slowly would force faster hikes later, while those calling for caution, “saw the risks to the U.S. economy stemming from developments abroad as tilted to the downside or because they were concerned that longer-term inflation expectations might be slipping lower, skewing the risks to the outlook for inflation to the downside,” the minutes noted.
Also of concern was the fact that with rates close to zero lower bound offers little room to maneuver should a downturn occur.
Participants held "a range of views about the likelihood that incoming information would make an adjustment appropriate at the time of their next meeting."
