The Federal Reserve meeting minutes revealed serious internal divisions, with policymakers persisting with interest rate cuts despite inflation warnings.

The minutes of the Federal Reserve's October policy meeting revealed significant disagreement among policymakers regarding last month's rate cut. Despite warnings that the rate cut could hinder efforts to curb inflation—which has remained above the 2% target for the past four and a half years—the decision was ultimately made to lower rates. The minutes stated that "many participants supported lowering the target range for the federal funds rate," but also noted that some members who supported the rate cut were equally accepting of maintaining the current rate. Several officials directly opposed the rate cut, expressing concern that "the Committee's progress toward achieving its 2% inflation target has stalled, and noted that if inflation fails to return to 2% in a timely manner, long-term inflation expectations could rise." The minutes added that "most participants noted that further reductions in the policy rate could exacerbate the risk of persistently high inflation, or be misinterpreted by the market as a lack of commitment to achieving the 2% inflation target." These minutes reflect officials' efforts to reach consensus in the absence of sufficient data: weighing the dual risks of rising inflation and a weak labor market, while also warning that a "sharp revaluation" of artificial intelligence investments could lead to a "disorderly stock market decline." (Jinshi)