Fed March minutes send signal that April rate rise is unlikely

Washington

FEDERAL Reserve officials not only decided against raising interest rates at their most recent meeting in March, but they also came close to ruling out an increase at their next meeting in April.

Officials are in a patient mood despite the continued expansion of the domestic economy because they still see more reasons to worry about raising rates too quickly than reasons to worry about waiting, according to an official account of the March policy meeting, which the Fed published on Wednesday.