Fed meeting favours caution on rate hike

Washington

FEDERAL Reserve policymakers favoured caution last month about raising interest rates as they weighed weak spots in the economy and foreign risks, minutes to the meeting showed on Wednesday.

Participants at the June 16-17 Federal Open Market Committee meeting decided to leave the benchmark zero-level interest rate unchanged, as expected, as the economy was rebounding from a tough first quarter.

The minutes said "many participants", in order to decide on raising rates, said they "would need additional information indicating that economic growth was strengthening, that labour market conditions wer…