WASHINGTON, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Federal Reserve policymakers are split over the pace of raising interest rates amid increasing concerns about the low inflation rate, according to minutes of the central bank's policy meeting released on Wednesday.
The sagging inflation rate, which has remained below the Fed's 2-percent target for more than five years, became a major obstacle to the next interest rates hike because higher interest rates could further suppress inflation.
"Many participants ... saw some likelihood that inflation might remain below 2 percent for longer than they currently expected, and several indicated that the risks to the inflation outlook could be tilted to the downside," the Fed said in the minutes of the meeting in July.
Some members of the policy-making committee argued the Fed "could afford to be patient under current circumstances," while others worried that the strong labor market and bull stock prices could result in an overshooting of the Fed's inflation objective.
The minutes raised doubt about the timing of next interest rates hike. Most American economists expect the Fed to raise interest rates once more in December, according to a Wall Street Journal survey last week.
The Fed in June raised the benchmark interest rates for the fourth time since December 2015 and unveiled a plan to trim its massive holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds and other mortgage-backed securities later this year.
