Fed worried about growth when cut rates: FOMC minutes

0 Comments | AFP, January, 2008

WASHINGTON (AFP) — The Federal Reserve was mainly concerned about economic growth when it lowered interest rates by a quarter point last month, with a dissenter calling for a "more aggressive" cut, according to the minutes of the meeting released Wednesday.

"Real GDP (gross domestic product) was anticipated to increase at a rate noticeably below its potential in 2008," before returning to a normal pace in 2009, the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee's meeting on December 11 said.

At the meeting the Fed lowered its base federal funds rate by a quarter point to 4.25 percent. It was the third back-to-back rate cut since September, trimming a combined one percentage point off the key rate.

The December 11 minutes said the central bank once again had...