December Interest Rate Cut Was A Close Call

WASHINGTON (AP) — Some Federal Reserve officials who supported cutting a key interest rate earlier this month could have instead backed keeping the rate unchanged, minutes released Tuesday show, underscoring the divisions and uncertainty permeating the central bank. At their December 9-10 meeting Fed officials agreed to cut their key interest rate by a quarter point for the third time this year, to about 3.6%, the lowest in nearly three years. The minutes underscored the deep split on the 19-member policymaking committee over what constitutes the biggest threat to the economy: weak hiring or stubbornly-elevated inflation.