Although uncertainty increased since their prior meeting, members of the Federal Open Market Committee decided at their January meeting that it was premature to change their outlook, according to minutes of the Jan. 26-27 meeting, released Wednesday.
Global and financial conditions increased uncertainty, but members had their own takes on how these would impact the U.S. economy and outlook.
"Members expressed a range of views regarding the implications of recent economic and financial developments for the degree of uncertainty about the medium-term outlook, with many members judging that uncertainty had increased," the minutes noted.
If global conditions continued to worsen, "it could be a factor amplifying downside risks."
Despite this, the minutes noted, "most policymakers thought that the extent to which tighter conditions would persist and what that might imply for the outlook were unclear, and they therefore judged that it was premature to alter appreciably their assessment of the medium-term economic outlook."
The panelists expect moderate economic growth and low inflation, although "most participants continued to anticipate that inflation would rise to 2 percent over the medium term as the transitory effects of declines in energy and import prices dissipated and the labor market strengthened further," the minutes state.
