FOMC Minutes: Dovish or Hawkish? Market Expectations Hang in the Balance

The Federal Reserve will release minutes from its July 28-29 meeting on Wednesday. The FOMC kept the federal funds target range unchanged at 3.50%-3.75%, but a 9-3 vote revealed an unusual policy split.

Beth Hammack, Neel Kashkari, and Lorie Logan preferred a 25-basis-point rate hike, while most officials opted to wait for additional data.

The minutes are particularly important because they will reveal how broadly concerns about persistent inflation were shared across the Committee.

Markets have recently reduced some rate-hike expectations as economic data softened. However, Treasury yields remain elevated and oil-driven inflation risks have complicated the outlook.