Fed minutes: Fed awaits 'more information' to gain confidence in rate cut

The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting showed that the vast majority of officials believed that US economic growth was gradually cooling; most participants believed that the current policy stance was restrictive; the Federal Reserve was waiting for "more information" to gain confidence to cut interest rates; some participants said that policies should be ready to respond to unexpected economic weakness; several Federal Reserve officials said that if demand weakened, the unemployment rate could rise. The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting showed that several participants said that if inflation persisted at a high level or rose further, interest rates might need to be raised; participants believed that "further modest progress" had been made toward the committee's 2% inflation target in recent months.