Fed officials see another hike coming, but no sign as to when, minutes show

Minutes from the last meeting say that most participants said it would likely be appropriate for another rate hike by year end. This leaves open the possibility of October but also keeps December into play. Of course, they said the decisions at the future meetings would depend on the incoming data uh which has been mixed in the meantime. Many said that the higher path for a funds rate would be prudent on riskmanagement grounds. Something we've heard increasingly amounts from Fed officials. provide insurance against uh you know high inflation uh because of stronger demand and further supply shocks to the economy. Uh several said the current policy rate was not restrictive or only mildly restrictive kind of picking up on language from Fed Chairman Kevin Wars who had said he didn't really find it very restrictive at all when he looked around most parts of the economy. participants noted that inflation remained elevated, had not seen sufficient progress and the risks were skewed to the upside when it came to inflation uh being elevated in the near term or the medium-term. Uh and of course they talked about what was driving inflation that includes geopolitical developments and supply shocks. Uh but and they were concerned that these inflation expectations which had been running higher. We had a report this morning about that could affect wage and price decisions. Strong business investment, consumer spending, all supported solid economic growth.