Federal Reserve Officials Expect Lower Interest Rates

Federal Reserve officials agree that interest rate cuts will occur, but there is disagreement on how aggressively the central bank will act this year, according to the latest released minutes.
At the June 17-18 policy meeting, the Fed left interest rates unchanged for the fourth consecutive meeting. The benchmark federal funds rate—which influences business, consumer, and government borrowing costs—was left at a target range of 4.25 to 4.5 percent.
“Most participants assessed that some reduction in the target range for the federal funds rate this year would likely be appropriate,” the meeting summary of the Open Market Committee (FOMC) said.
Officials now anticipate that tariff-driven inflation could be “temporary or modest,” and medium- and long-term inflation expectations remained well anchored….