Fed minutes show policy makers still stymied by US inflation mystery
Washington — US Federal Reserve policy makers are worried about low inflation, and view recent tax changes as providing a boost to consumer spending, according to the minutes of the US central bank’s December policy meeting, released on Wednesday. The details of the December 12-13 meeting, at which the Fed raised interest rates for the fifth time since the 2008 financial crisis, also showed officials are uncertain about the impact of fiscal stimulus on raising price pressures. "Most participants reiterated their support for continuing a gradual approach to raising the target range, noting that this approach helped to balance risks to the outlook for economic activity and inflation," the Fed said in the minutes. They then mulled the dual possibilities that the Trump administration’s tax cuts or easy financial conditions could cause inflation pressures to build unduly, while at the same time also considering that actual or expected inflation may fail to rise to the Fed’s 2% target. US...
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