Several Federal Reserve officials at the U.S. central bank’s policy meeting last month considered pausing interest rate increases until it was clear the failure of two regional banks would not cause wider financial stress, but even they ultimately concluded high inflation remained the priority. "Several participants … considered whether it would be appropriate to hold the target range steady at the meeting" to assess how financial sector developments might influence lending and the path of the economy, according to the minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s March 21-22 meeting, which were released on Wednesday.
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