Many Federal Reserve members favour near-term rate hike: minutes

Washington

A MAJORITY of US central bankers favour raising benchmark interest rates in the near term, signalling the Federal Reserve is likely to tighten monetary policy next month, minutes from their last meeting revealed on Wednesday.

But sharp disagreements persist among policymakers over the dangers of inflation and the need to raise rates, according to the minutes of the Fed's Oct 31 to Nov 1 meeting. Some members are also concerned that Wall Street's dizzying heights and record-smashing rallies could spell trouble. The Fed has raised rates twice in 2017 and markets widely expect it to adopt a third increase next month despite persistently weak inflation and sluggish wage growth. The weakness of price pressures amid record low unemployment and steady job creation has baffled economists.