Fed Minutes Show Rates Split

Federal Reserve officials are of two minds about what happens next with interest rates—and for now, that means no move at all. Newly released minutes from the June 16-17 meeting show policymakers are split over whether inflation will force another hike this year or ease enough to justify a cut, even as they unanimously voted to hold the benchmark rate at 3.5% to 3.75%, where it has sat all year, CBNC reports. Forecasts released after the meeting showed that half of the 18 of those who submitted projections supported lifting rates by the end of the year, while the other half supported keeping them unchanged or reducing them, per the AP.

The session, Kevin Warsh's first as Fed chair, also marked a pivot in how the central bank talks to the public, per CNBC. The minutes—shorter than usual—detail broad agreement on trimming back the Fed's post-meeting statements, dropping language that hinted at a bias toward easing and cutting boilerplate about the economy. Officials repeatedly stressed that future moves will depend on incoming data, with "many" seeing rates staying at or slightly below current levels by year-end and "many others" expecting them to go higher. Warsh, who has criticized detailed "forward guidance," has launched task forces to review communications, even as he stays publicly vague about where policy goes next.