The members of the Federal Open Market Committee expressed “strongly differing views” over whether to further trim the federal funds rate at its December meeting, according to minutes released today of the committee’s October meeting.
At the October meeting, the FOMC voted to lower the rate by 25 basis points to 3.75%-4%. Fed Governor Stephen Miran voted against the motion, preferring to cut the rate by 50 basis points, as did Kansas City Fed CEO Jeffrey Schmid, who preferred no change to the target range.
The minutes show there was disagreement with how the FOMC should proceed at its next meeting in December.
“Most participants judged that further downward adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate as the committee moved to a more neutral policy stance over time, although several of these participants indicated that they did not necessarily view another 25 basis point reduction as likely to be appropriate at the December meeting,” according to the minutes.
“Several participants assessed that a further lowering of the target range for the federal funds rate could well be appropriate in December if the economy evolved about as they expected over the coming intermeeting period. Many participants suggested that, under their economic outlooks, it would likely be appropriate to keep the target range unchanged for the rest of the year.”
