A number of policy makers feel the Federal Reserve should be open to further easing monetary policy if the sluggish U.S. recovery stalls, minutes from the central bank's January meeting revealed Wednesday.
However, only a few were advocating that conditions currently warrant another round of quantitative easing, or QE3.
Last month, the Fed announced plans to keep its key interest rate near zero through late 2014, but some members feel that pledge should be subject to conditions.
Most favor a wait-and-see approach, citing recent improvement in the jobs market as evidence that current levels of accommodation are adequate.
On the other hand, Jeffrey Lacker, the president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank, argued that "a preemptive tightening" would be needed to dampen inflation expectations in the next two years.
Lacker's was the lone dissenting vote, and his views were not shared by most members of the FOMC.
"With unemployment expected to remain elevated, and with longer-term inflation expectations stable, almost all participants expected inflation to remain subdued in coming quarters--that is, to run at or below" the Fed's 2 percent target level, according to the minutes.
The Fed also remains reluctant to remove support for the economy due to concerns that the unresolved European sovereign debt crisis could derail the U.S. recovery.
"On balance over the period, the expected path for the federal funds rate implied by money market futures quotes was essentially unchanged," the Fed said.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.