US Fed policymakers expect to continue raising interest rates to curb inflation

Federal Reserve’s building

The US Federal Reserve policymakers think that the recent slowdown in inflation is not enough to prevent interest rate increases.

The minutes of the last meeting of the Fed showed that "inflation remains well above the bank's target of 2%, with upward pressure on wages and prices due to the continued tightening of the labor market."

The Fed raised interest rates from Jan.31-Feb. 1 meeting by 25 basis points (bps) to the range of 4.5% and 4.75%.

The minutes said: "The participants in the meeting referred to the inflation data during the past three months, which showed a decline in the pace of price rise, but stressed the need for evidence of a sustainable downward path for inflation."

The minutes also showed that "almost all" officials agreed it was appropriate to raise interest rates by 25 bps at the meeting, but "a few" favored or could have supported a bigger 50 bps increase.