Proceedings of the Federal Reserve Conference: Disagreements between officials over interest rates are evident and interest rates are likely to increase and decrease

On 9 July, the minutes of the June policy meeting of the Federal Reserve revealed a clear disagreement among officials on the direction of future interest rates. Some policymakers felt that inflation could be eased, thus creating conditions for a reduction in interest rates, while others were concerned that price pressures continued and felt that interest rates might need to be raised in the future. At its meeting held from 16 to 17 June, the Fed unanimously decided to maintain the base rate at 3.5 to 3.75 per cent. However, discussions at the meeting revealed that policymakers had different judgements about the level of interest rates at the end of the year. Some officials felt that interest rates at the end of the year might be close to, or even slightly lower than, the current level; others felt that interest rates might need to be higher than the current level. The Fed indicated that future policies would be adjusted to economic data on inflation, employment, etc。