New York

FEDERAL Reserve officials were divided in July over the urgency to raise interest rates again, with some preferring to wait because inflation remained benign and others wanting to go soon as the labour market nears full employment.

Such divergence in views, as shown in minutes of the central bank's July 26-27 meeting issued on Wednesday, means that officials are likely to need more concrete evidence that inflation is picking up and economic growth is strengthening before deciding that an increase in borrowing costs is justified. Investors will listen closely for additional clues on timing when Fed chair Janet Yellen speaks on Aug 26 at an annual symposium hosted by the Kansas City Fed in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.