The Federal Open Market Committee's bond-buying program is likely to end after its October meeting, said minutes released Wednesday of the group's June meeting.
At that meeting, members voted unanimously to continue tapering their bond-buying program, due to signs of underlying strength in the economy.
FOMC members also agreed at the June meeting that keeping the federal funds rate in the zero to 0.25% target range will be appropriate “for a considerable time” after the asset purchase program ends. The minutes showed a range of positions among members, with some advocating a more gradual approach to changing the rate, while some argued for a stronger commitment to accommodation and others called for “a more rapid move to begin raising the federal funds rate in order to avoid significantly overshooting” unemployment and inflation objectives. All but one member thought it appropriate to wait until 2015 before beginning even a gradual increase in the rate.
FOMC members expect economic growth to pick up notably in the second half of 2014 and beyond.
