United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) January meeting minutes, released on Wednesday, disclosed that a majority of officials expressed concern in case the central bank moved "too quickly" to ease the monetary policy and emphasized the importance of closely monitoring data to ascertain if inflation was on a sustainable path to reach the 2% objective.
During the two-day policy meeting during which the Fed officials unanimously decided to hold interest rates steady, members argued that the policy rate was "likely at its peak" for this tightening cycle, but underlined that they do not expect to reduce federal funds rates until they have "gained greater confidence" that inflation was moving in line with its expectations. The officials expressed "uncertainty" about how long the rates could remain elevated.
Some officials, however, pointed out the "downside risks" to the economy as a result of keeping the "overly restrictive" policy for "too long."
