Fed meeting minutes: Potential impact of Trump's policies raises inflation concerns

Odaily News Fed policymakers said at a meeting about a week after Trump took office on January 20 that Trump's initial policy proposals raised the Fed's concerns about rising inflation. According to the published minutes, participants "generally pointed to upside risks to the inflation outlook" rather than risks to the job market. "Participants specifically mentioned the potential impact of potential changes in trade and immigration policies, the possibility of geopolitical developments disrupting supply chains, or stronger-than-expected household spending." The minutes said that although participants remained confident that price pressures would continue to ease, "other factors were seen as likely to hinder the anti-inflation process," including "some (Federal Reserve) regional business contacts indicating that companies will try to pass on higher input costs from potential tariffs to consumers." Participants also pointed out that some measures of inflation expectations, a key issue for the Fed, "have risen recently." (Jinshi)