Federal Reserve minutes: Inflation is cooling, but more evidence is needed for rate cuts
LA TimesA May news conference with Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell appears on a monitor on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange. Federal Reserve officials at their most recent meeting welcomed recent signs that inflation is slowing and highlighted data suggesting that the job market and the broader economy could be cooling. The minutes of the Fed’s June 11-12 meeting, released Wednesday, showed that the policymakers saw several factors that could further ease inflation in the coming months. Rate cuts by the Fed would likely lead, over time, to lower borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards as well as business borrowing, and could also boost stock prices. In the latest Fed minutes, many of the officials also noted that lower- and moderate-income households are “encountering increasing strains as they attempted to meet higher living costs.” “Such strains,” the minutes said, “which were evident in rising credit card utilization and delinquency rates as well as motor vehicle loan delinquencies, were a significant concern.” Rugaber writes for the Associated Press.