Federal Reserve minutes show officials kept rates unchanged in March while weighing possible cuts or hikes as Middle East war risks complicated inflation and employment outlooks.
Federal Reserve minutes showed policymakers kept the benchmark rate at 3.5% to 3.75% in March while discussing that future moves could involve either rate cuts or hikes. The minutes said most participants saw elevated upside risks to inflation and downside risks to employment linked to the Middle East situation, reinforcing the Fed’s increasingly two-sided approach to interest-rate decisions.