Persistent inflationary pressures, however, offset concerns about the failure of several regional US banks ahead of the latest policy meeting.
| Several US Federal Reserve officials at the policy meeting last month considered pausing interest rate increases until it was clear the failure of two regional banks would not cause wider financial stress.
Policymakers at the March meeting weakened their commitment to further rate hikes, dropping the stated need for “ongoing increases”.However, those officials, along with others, agreed that actions taken by US policymakers and the Fed had “helped calm conditions in the banking sector and lessen the near-term risks to economic activity and inflation”, the minutes said, and supported a quarter-percentage-point rate increase despite the new uncertainty around the financial sector.
“Participants agreed that recent banking developments would factor into the committee’s monetary policy decisions to the extent these developments affect the outlook for employment and inflation and the risks surrounding the outlook.”
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