US Fed could hike rates soon: report

The Federal Reserve officials have considered raising the benchmark US interest rates soon to counter excessive economic expansion, Reuters reported on Wednesday, citing a central bank statement following a two-day meeting.

The Fed has been hiking rates gradually off near-zero since 2015 and is now concerned the economy is so strong that inflation could rise persistently above its 2 percent target.

Spending by US households and businesses appeared to have “considerable momentum,” according to the meeting minutes.

“I read these as further confirmation that the Fed is firmly in its tightening mode and is very unlikely to be deterred from that path,” Jeff Greenberg, an economist at J.P. Morgan Private Bank, said.

The US economy is forecast to grow at a fast enough rate to put upward pressure on inflation. With interest rates rising, many policymakers said the Fed would soon have to stop describing monetary policy as giving a boost to the economy.

The Fed has raises interest rates by a quarter-percentage point twice this year.  

Meanwhile, policymakers have also discussed how global trade tensions could hurt businesses, household purchasing power, investment spending and employment.

The Fed was preparing to debate once again how best to implement its monetary policy, including what to do with its swollen balance sheet, the minutes showed.