Economics
Fed Officials Saw Policy Appropriate ‘For a Time’ Amid Risks
- Officials want to see price gains hit 2% or potentially higher
- Coronavirus keeps policy makers on toes despite solid economy
This article is for subscribers only.
Federal Reserve officials indicated they could leave interest rates unchanged for many more months amid concerns about a persistent undershoot of their inflation goal, potential room to further boost employment and risks stemming from the coronavirus and trade.
Minutes of the Jan. 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee meeting, released Wednesday in Washington, showed that several officials might support a mild overshoot of the 2% inflation target, indicating they see little need to pre-empt rising prices. What’s more, new shocks such as the coronavirus are more likely to keep prices subdued as global demand weakens.