The US Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said in minutes from its May meeting released on Wednesday that it has become "less certain" that the bank will continue hiking rates at its future meetings.
"In discussing the policy outlook, participants generally agreed that in light of the lagged effects of cumulative tightening in monetary policy and the potential effects on the economy of a further tightening in credit conditions, the extent to which additional increases in the target range may be appropriate after this meeting had become less certain," the FOMC stated.
The minutes showed that the FOMC unanimously agreed to raise interest rates by 25 basis points in May and vowed to "closely monitor incoming information" before determining future actions. Some participants stressed that further rate hikes are likely to be needed to help return inflation to the Fed's 2% target, while others stated "further policy firming after this meeting may not be necessary."
