At its meeting on September 15–16, the US Federal Reserve (Fed) raised its key interest rate by 0.25 percentage points to a range of 3.75–4.00 percent.
The meeting minutes, released on Wednesday, show that members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) were unanimous in their decision to raise interest rates.
A majority also believe that further action is needed to bring inflation, which has been above the 2 percent annual target for more than five years, down sufficiently.
"Regarding the outlook for monetary policy after the current meeting, most participants assessed that a further increase in the target range for the policy rate would likely be appropriate before the end of the year," the document said, according to CNBC.
At the same time, the minutes also struck a note of caution:
"However, participants emphasized that they approach each meeting with an open mind and that decisions at future meetings will depend on incoming information and its significance for the outlook and risk picture," the minutes said.
The next interest rate decision will be announced after the FOMC meeting on October 27–28.
But markets now consider an increase unlikely even then, as the latest inflation figures have been less concerning and various Fed officials have struck a dovish tone.
Only one more meeting will be held before the end of the year, on December 8–9.
