Fed minutes show uncertainty on future hikes

Federal Reserve policymakers at their May meeting considered raising a key interest rate by half a percentage point before deciding on a quarter-point increase, minutes published Wednesday 31 May showed.

Chairman Ben Bernanke and his Fed colleagues also decided to leave the door open to additional rate increases "in view of the risk that the outlook for inflation could worsen," according to minutes of the Fed's May 10 meeting.

Policymakers deemed their action to raise interest rates a quarter-point appropriate "to keep inflation from rising and promote sustainable economic expansion," according to the minutes.

The Fed said "a number of factors were augmenting the upside risks to inflation" including a run up in energy prices as well as some commodity prices and a weaker value of the U.S. dollar.

"Inflation pressures appeared to be somewhat greater than the committee had anticipated" when it gathered for its previous meeting in March, the minutes said.

Click here to read the minutes

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