The officials unanimously agreed that inflation was still elevated and had not made much progress toward their 2% target in recent months, the minutes said. The Fed increased its key interest rate at the September 15-16 meeting by a quarter-point to about 3.9%, its first increase in three years.
The increase defied President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for the Fed to cut rates and prompted the president to criticise the Fed’s rate-setting committee, though he still expressed support for Chairman Kevin Warsh, whom he appointed earlier this year.
ALSO READ | US economy showing cracks beneath AI boom; Fed risks policy mistake: William Lee
The rate increase comes as Americans are already struggling with high costs for groceries, gas and housing, and as affordability has taken on a leading role in the upcoming midterm elections, just seven weeks away.
Longer-term interest rates for mortgages and other borrowing have also jumped in the past few months for a range of reasons, including rising government debt, heavy borrowing by tech firms to finance data center construction, climbing oil and gas prices, and signs that growth and inflation remain elevated. The Fed’s rate hike has likely played only a limited role in the increase.
Still, key policymakers have said since the meeting that the Fed can take some time to monitor the economy and the impact of last month’s rate hike before making another move. Wall Street investors now forecast the Fed will keep its rate unchanged at its next meeting on October 28-29, according to futures pricing, and raise it when it meets in December.
ALSO READ | Gold faces second weekly fall as US jobs data puts Fed rate path in focus
First Published: Oct 8, 2026 12:21 AM IST