The U.S. Federal Reserve is less concerned about a potential recession, according to minutes of its December policy meeting.
The Fed’s policy-making committee saw much less risk of recession at its most recent meeting in December, when it elected to keep interest rates steady after three straight cuts and signaled that it expected to keep low rates unchanged throughout 2020.
Minutes of the December meeting showed that Fed officials supported keeping rates in a low range of 1.5% to 1.75% to cushion the U.S. economy from slow global growth and lingering trade tensions. Officials were also concerned that inflation still hadn't reached its target of 2%.
Still, many Fed policymakers said at the December meeting that the risks of a U.S.-China trade war had diminished, and that the probability of a disruptive Brexit had also declined. The meeting occurred two days before the United States and China reached a preliminary trade deal.
Fed officials also noted that the U.S. economy was "showing resilience" despite the trade fight and weak global economy. Changes in interest rates also "suggested that the likelihood of a recession occurring over the medium term had fallen noticeably in recent months."
Fed Chairman Jerome Powell echoed that view in his post-meeting news conference, signalling that the central bank was comfortable with keeping interest rates low for the foreseeable future.
