Federal Reserve Meeting Minutes: Agreed to Maintain Interest Rates, Economic Outlook Uncertainty Remains High

On August 20, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of the July 29-30 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting.

The minutes showed that the Fed agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate between 4.25% and 4.5%.

△Federal Reserve

During the monetary policy discussion at this meeting, members agreed that, although fluctuations in net exports impacted the data, recent indicators suggest that economic activity growth has moderated in the first half of the year. Inflation remains slightly elevated, and uncertainty about the economic outlook remains high.

To support the Committee's goals, nearly all members agreed to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate between 4.25% and 4.5%. Vice Chairman for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller voted against maintaining the benchmark interest rate unchanged, instead supporting a 25 basis point rate cut to prevent further weakening in the job market.