Fed keen to be 'well positioned' to act on inflation, other risks, minutes show Federal Reserve officials last month felt substantial further progress on the U.S. economic recovery "was generally seen as not having yet been met," but agreed they should be poised to act if inflation or other risks materialized, according to the minutes of the central bank's June policy meeting.
In minutes that reflected a divided Fed wrestling with new inflation risks but still relatively high unemployment, "various participants" at the June 15-16 meeting felt conditions for reducing the central bank's asset purchases would be "met somewhat earlier than they had anticipated."
Others saw a less clear signal from incoming data and cautioned that reopening the economy after a pandemic left an unusual level of uncertainty which required a "patient" approach to any policy change, stated the minutes, which were released on Wednesday.
Still, "a substantial majority" of the officials saw inflation risks "tilted to the upside," and the Fed as a whole felt it needed to be prepared to act if those risks materialized.......
https://www.reuters.com/business/fed-minutes-may-provide-clues-bond-taper-timeline-inflation-outlook-2021-07-07/
