Central Banks
Fed Leans Toward Another Hike, Defying Staff’s Recession Outlook
- Some officials emphasized need for flexibility, optionality
- Fed staff forecast a ‘mild recession’ later this year
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Federal Reserve officials appear on track to extend their run of interest-rate hikes when they meet next month, shrugging off their advisers’ warning of recession with a bet that they need to do a little more to curb inflation.
Minutes of last month’s policy meeting showed officials dialed back expectations of how high they’ll need to lift rates after a series of bank collapses roiled markets last month. Still, officials raised their benchmark lending rate a quarter point to a range of 4.75% to 5%, as they sought to balance the risk of a credit crunch with incoming data showing price pressures remained too high.