Fed's Rate-Hike Path Under Powell Is in Focus With Minutes Today
- Last account of internal deliberations ended on cliffhanger
- Presidential criticism of rate-hike plan has since increased
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The last published record of internal deliberations at the Federal Reserve ended on a cliffhanger. An update this week may illuminate U.S. central bankers’ thinking on what is becoming an increasingly controversial topic: the outlook for interest rates next year.
That conversation, along with any hints about how they are judging progress as they unwind part of the Fed’s $4.2 trillion balance sheet, will be the main focus for investors when minutes of the policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee’s July 31-Aug. 1 meeting are released Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Washington. Chairman Jerome Powell may provide more color when he speaks Friday at the Kansas City Fed’s annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.