‘Many’ Fed members favor near-term rate hike

WASHINGTON: A majority of US central bankers favor 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 Wednesday.

But sharp disagreements persist among policymakers over need to raise rates, according to the minutes of the Fed’s October 31-November 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 economists.

Outgoing Fed Chair Janet Yellen has acknowledged that policymakers cannot fully explain the weakness of inflation but that most expect it to begin rising in the medium term, suggesting the Fed should raise rates ahead of time.

Waiting too long to act could US central bank to raise rates suddenly, harming the world’s biggest economy, most Fed members say.

A vocal minority on the Fed’s

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