Fed minutes show growing openness to rate hikes at March meeting

WASHINGTON — A growing group of Federal Reserve policymakers felt last month that interest rate hikes might be needed to counter inflation that continued to exceed the central bank's 2 percent target, particularly given the inflationary impact of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, according to the minutes of their March 17-18 meeting. "Some participants judged that there was a strong case for a two-sided description of the (Federal Open Market) Committee's future interest rate decisions in the post-meeting statement, reflecting the possibility that upwards adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate could be appropriate if inflation were to remain at above-target levels," the minutes said. At the January meeting a smaller group of "several" officials were willing to open the door to possible rate hikes, but by March and the outbreak of the war "many participants pointed to the risk of inflation remaining elevated for longer than expected amid a persistent increase in oil prices." The Fed in March held its benchmark overnight interest rate steady in the 3.50 percent-3.75 pe

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