Newly released records show a Federal Reserve increasingly at odds with itself over the path forward on interest rates.
While most of the central bank’s policymakers still see inflation as a bigger threat than the jobs market — whose weakening may be more driven by slower immigration than corporate gloominess — there’s little consensus on the path forward, according to the September minutes released Wednesday. Seven of 19 voting members of the Fed’s rate-setting committee saw no need for any further cuts this year, while the market is pricing in two more. One official wanted to raise interest rates, which would likely spook the markets by signaling acute concerns about a recession. The Fed’s decision-making seems more delicate — and more divided — than it’s been in years.