WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve policy makers debated last month whether an interest rate hike would be needed in April though a consensus emerged that risks from a global economic slowdown warranted a cautious approach."Many participants expressed a view that the global economic and financial situation still posed appreciable downside risks," according to the minutes from the Fed’s March 15-16 policy meeting released on Wednesday.Policy makers had signalled at the close of that meeting that they expected to raise rates twice in 2016, but the timing of the hikes still appears up in the air. According to the minutes, many Fed members said they were concerned that interest rates were still so low that the central bank had limited firepower to respond to shocks from abroad."Many participants indicated that the heightened global risks and the asymmetric ability of monetary policy to respond to them warranted caution," the minutes stated.Investors have held doubts the Fed would raise rates ...
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