Fed Still Holding Off on Raising Interest Rates
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iStock/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) — The nation’s central bank is balking at boosting record-low interest rates anytime soon.
That was the gist of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s last policy meeting in late January in which officials felt that increasing rates banks lend one another “might damp the apparent solid recovery in real activity and labor market conditions.”
Since the Great Recession took hold in 2008, rates have stayed at or near zero percent.
There was speculation that the Fed would raise short-term rates as early as June but policymakers apparently felt that was premature.
According to the minutes, the chief concern among some officials is low inflation, which suggests that wage growth is weak. However, higher inflation might return with a vengeance if the Fed doesn’t eventually raise interest rates amid a growing economy.
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