WASHINGTON, July 7 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Federal Reserve officials were divided over when to start tapering the central bank's asset purchases due to uncertainty regarding the economic outlook, according to the minutes of the Fed's recent policy meeting released Wednesday.
"Various participants mentioned that they expected the conditions for beginning to reduce the pace of asset purchases to be met somewhat earlier than they had anticipated at previous meetings in light of incoming data," the Fed said in the minutes of its June 15-16 meeting.
However, some Fed officials saw the incoming data as providing "a less clear signal" about the underlying economic momentum and judged that the central bank would have information in coming months to make a better assessment of the path of the labor market and inflation, according to the minutes.
"Several of these participants emphasized that the Committee should be patient in assessing progress toward its goals and in announcing changes to its plans for asset purchases," the minutes said, referring to the Fed's policy-making committee.
The Fed has pledged to keep its benchmark interest rates unchanged at the record-low level of near zero, while continuing its asset purchase program at least at the current pace of 120 billion U.S. dollars per month until the economic recovery makes "substantial further progress."
"The Committee's standard of 'substantial further progress' was generally seen as not having yet been met, though participants expected progress to continue," the minutes said.
Fed officials agreed to continue assessing the economy's progress toward the central bank's goals and to begin to discuss their plans for adjusting the path and composition of asset purchases at coming meetings, according to the minutes.
"Participants generally judged that, as a matter of prudent planning, it was important to be well positioned to reduce the pace of asset purchases, if appropriate, in response to unexpected economic developments, including faster-than-anticipated progress toward the Committee's goals or the emergence of risks that could impede the attainment of the Committee's goals," the minutes said.
Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at accounting and consulting firm RSM US LLP, said on Twitter that the Fed may choose to maintain the pace of asset purchases given global variant risks, while changing the composition of asset purchases to address diminished need for support in housing market or overall domestic financial conditions.
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