USA-Fed May Have To Raise Rates Earlier Than Expected-minutes | Photo credits: Istock
WASHINGTON, Jan.5 (Reuters) – US Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers at their meeting last month said the US job market was “very tight” and the central bank may need to not only to raise interest rates earlier than expected, but also to reduce its balance sheet to contain high inflation.
The minutes of the December meeting, released on Wednesday, shed more light on the Fed’s turn last month towards more aggressive monetary policy.
Policymakers have decided to speed up the end of the support measures deployed by the US central bank to offset the impact of the coronavirus health crisis.
They also released forecasts anticipating three quarter-point rate hikes this year. (Howard Schneider report, French version Matthieu Protard)