Federal Reserve Minutes Show Split Over Removing Easing Bias

The Federal Reserve released minutes on Wednesday from its April 28-29, 2026 meeting. The documents showed that many participants would have preferred to remove language from the post-meeting statement that suggested an easing bias for future interest rate decisions.

Several participants said it would likely be appropriate to lower the target range for the federal funds rate once clear signs emerge that disinflation is firmly back on track or if solid indications of greater weakness appear in the labor market.

A majority of participants highlighted that some policy firming would likely become appropriate if inflation continued to run persistently above 2 percent. The minutes noted that several participants indicated rate cuts would be warranted later this year if conflict were resolved soon and inflation pressures dissipated.

The descriptions of economic and financial conditions in the minutes are based solely on the information available to the Committee at the time of the meeting.

The minutes were published three weeks after the policy decision, consistent with the Federal Reserve's standard schedule. They can be viewed on the Board's website. For media inquiries, the Federal Reserve listed an email address and phone number in the release.

“The minutes for each regularly scheduled meeting of the Committee are generally published three weeks after the day of the policy decision.”