Federal Reserve officials are set to raise interest rates next month and would be willing to tighten monetary policy more quickly than they currently anticipate if US inflation does not come under control, according to the minutes of their latest meeting.
The account of the January gathering of the Federal Open Market Committee said officials were on board for the first interest rate increase since 2018 to be implemented “soon” in the face of soaring inflation. Economists interpreted that to be a confirmation of a “lift-off” in March.
Most Fed officials acknowledged that a faster pace of rate rises was “likely warranted” compared to the last tightening cycle, when the Fed increased its main policy rate by a quarter-point in December 2015 and then held off on another adjustment until the end of 2016.