Fed minutes: Lower inflation needed before many officials will support rate cuts

3 days ago 1

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Many Federal Reserve officials want to see inflation fall further before they would support additional interest rate cuts this year, particularly if the job market continues to stabilize, minutes of last month’s meeting show.

The “vast majority” of the 19 participants on the Fed’s rate-setting committee said that there were signs the job market has stabilized, after the unemployment rate rose in late 2025, the minutes said. And most of the officials agreed that the Fed’s key rate is close to a level that neither stimulates nor restrains the economy. The minutes were released Wednesday, three weeks after the central bank’s Jan. 27-28 meeting.

Fed officials at that meeting agreed to keep its key rate steady at about 3.6%, after cutting it three times late last year. Two officials — Fed governors Stephen Miran and Christopher Waller — voted instead to cut another quarter-point.