Fed may raise rates soon

Some Federal Reserve officials think the economy is improving fast enough that the Fed will soon need to signal a change in the extraordinary support it’s been providing the economy in the form of ultra-low interest rates.

Read: Fed gives BoA approval for dividend increase

Minutes of the Fed’s discussion at its July 29-30 meeting show that some officials thought the economy was improving enough that the Fed would need “to call for a relatively prompt move” toward reducing the support it has been providing. Otherwise, they felt the Fed risked overshooting its targets for unemployment and inflation.

In the end, the Fed made no changes at the July meeting. It approved on a 9-1 vote keeping its current stance on interest rates. But the minutes indicated rising support for a change.

Read: Banks’ failsafes aren’t enough, say regs

The minutes also indicate the Federal Reserve will give more details about how it plans to raise rates “well before” it moves its interest benchmark up, reports the Financial Times.

FT says officials on the Fed’s Open Market Committee were approving of internal communications proposals that emphasized clearly explaining their plans, while allowing for it to change in the face of new economic challenges.

Read more here.

Also read: Careful: Canadian stocks near record highs

Staff, with files from The Associated Press

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.