The minutes were released a day after the New York Fed President William Dudley said “it’s possible” that rates may rise at the policy meeting at the end of September.
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US Federal Reserve policy makers last month believed risks to the US economy had lessened but wanted to keep their interest rate policy “options open”, according to minutes released Wednesday.
Federal Reserve policymakers agree that more economic data is needed before raising interest rates, although some see a need to tighten policy soon, according to the minutes from the USA central bank’s July 26-27 policy meeting.
The dollar index was up 0.1 percent at 94.91, after losing 0.8 percent on Tuesday.
US consumer prices were unchanged in July from the previous month, following two straight monthly increases of 0.2 percent.
27 July FOMC meeting indicated that FOMC officials were split on whether a rate hike was needed soon.
Investors will be paying close attention to a speech that Yellen will give on August 26 to an annual conference of central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, for any further clues about the Fed’s timetable for a rate hike.
The STOXX 600 was 0.8 per cent lower.
While the wage outlook is confusing, “the more reliable” wage measures, the employment cost index and average hourly earnings, “are showing a very modest, but sort of steady, acceleration in wages”, Dudley said.
“For the first time in quite a while, gains in middle-wage jobs actually outnumber gains in higher- and lower-wage jobs nationwide”, said Dudley, a permanent voter on United States interest rate policy and a close ally of Fed Chair Janet Yellen.
Minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s July meeting in Washington at which central bank leaders ultimately passed on raising the country’s benchmark interest rate were published Wednesday.
Some policymakers have suggested that it will probably still be appropriate to raise rates at least once this year, with New York Fed president William Dudley indicating a move could come as soon as the Fed’s September 20-21 gathering.
The dollar hovered at 100.31 yen after having fallen to as low as 99.55, coming within sight of its 2 1/2 year trough of 99.00 set on June 24 after the Brexit vote.
Holdings of SPDR Gold Trust, the world’s largest gold-backed exchange-traded fund, fell 0.2% to 955.99 metric tons in the week through Thursday, according to Bloomberg data.
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USA stocks, however, were expected lower, which could limit gold’s downside.
