United States Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) July meeting minutes, released on Wednesday, disclosed that a majority of policymakers expect that given the level of "uncertainty" additional tightening could follow their decision to raise interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point last month.
During the two-day policy meeting, officials pointed out that inflation risks remained on the "upside" considering the continued elevated inflation rate, which runs beyond the Committee's intended objective, coupled with the resilience of the labor market. The policymakers underlined that indicators demonstrate a gradual slowdown in economic activity, while "some" officials expressed concern over the "cumulative effects on the economy of past monetary policy tightening."
All of the voting members voted unanimously in support of hiking the target range for the federal funds rate, though policymakers cautioned that tighter monetary policy would cause "a sharper slowdown in the economy than expected."
