Fed officials see rate hike ahead if inflation stays elevated, minutes show

Key points

• WASHINGTON — A majority of Federal Reserve officials at their most recent meeting anticipated that interest rate increases would be necessary if the Iran war continued to aggravate inflation, according to minutes released Wednesday.
• Though the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee again voted to keep its benchmark rate targeted between 3.5%-3.75%, the meeting featured four "no" votes, the most since 1992, and an apparently heightened level of disagreement about where policy should go.
• At issue was the impact that the Iran war would have on prices and how that would work its way into monetary policy.
• Officials differed on how long the war's impact would last and whether the post-meeting statement should continue to reflect a bias toward cutting rates as the more likely next move.
• While several meeting participants said it would be appropriate to lower when it's clear that inflation is moving back to the Fed's 2% target...