Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s meeting last month showed that most members thought it might be appropriate to lift rates in December provided economic data continued to improve and that “unanticipated shocks” did not get in the way.
Most members of the US central bank’s rate-setting body said at their October meeting that conditions for an increase in short-term interest rates “could well be met” by December, as the central bank prepares for the possibility for the first upward move since 2006.
However, the minutes also exposed continued divisions among Fed policymakers, with some warning that it was “unlikely” that information available by December would support an increase. They questioned whether the US economy was strong enough to withstand a sudden setback given the Fed’s limited monetary firepower at a time of ultra-low rates.