Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, where interest rates were left unchanged, showed almost all policy makers viewed it as appropriate to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.50%, despite two dissenters.
“Almost all participants viewed it as appropriate to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 4.25% to 4.50% at this meeting,” the minutes of the July 29-30 meeting said.
Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman and Governor Christopher Waller both voted against the decision to leave the benchmark interest rate unchanged, favoring instead a quarter-percentage-point reduction to guard against further weakening of the job market.
It was the first time since 1993 that more than one Fed governor dissented against a rate decision.
Not even 48 hours after the conclusion of last month’s meeting, data from the Labor Department appeared to validate the concerns of Bowman and Waller when it showed far fewer jobs than expected were created in July, a rise in the unemployment rate and a drop in the labor force participation rate to the lowest level since late 2022.
Fed Chair Jerome Powell is expected to speak on Friday at the central bank’s annual conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. His remarks will be closely watched for policy signals.
Investors have been pricing in a 25-basis-point rate cut in September, according to data compiled by LSEG.
with Reuters