Some members of the Federal Reserve favor scaling back the central bank's $85 billion a month asset purchase program this summer as long as the economy continues to improve, according the the minutes of the Fed's April 30-May 1 meeting.
"A number of participants expressed willingness to adjust the flow of purchases downward as early as the June meeting if the economic information received by that time showed evidence of sufficiently strong and sustained growth; however, views differed about what evidence would be necessary and the likelihood of that outcome," the minutes showed.
Earlier this year, the Fed said it would continue its policy of aggressive easing until the unemployment rate improved to 6.5 percent.
However, an increasing number of Fed voters feel that the labor market recovery can be sustained even if asset purchases are tapered down over the next few months. One participant preferred to begin decreasing the rate of purchases immediately.
Assessing the economy, the Fed noted that economic activity continued to expand at a moderate pace during the time between the Fed's March meeting and the two-day meeting ending June 1.
Still, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday downplayed speculation that the central bank will alter QE3 in the next few months..
The economic recovery remains too fragile to proceed without extraordinary support from the Fed in light of fiscal restraint and headwinds from Europe, Bernanke said in semi-annual testimony before the Joint Economic Committee.
"A premature tightening of monetary policy could lead interest rates to rise temporarily but would also carry a substantial risk of slowing or ending the economic recovery and causing inflation to fall further," Bernanke told lawmakers.
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