Wednesday’s minutes were released by the Federal Open Market Committee from September 21-22.

The committee unanimously voted to maintain the central banks’ benchmark short term borrowing rate of zero to 0.25% at the policymaking session. The decision was made to maintain the minimum $120 million monthly asset purchase.

But, the Fed’s post-meeting statement indicated that they might soon begin to cut back on bond purchases. This is known as “tapering.” The Wednesday release was a key indicator for markets about how Fed members felt and what time the reductions would begin.

Also, the committee released a summary of their economic outlook, which included projections for GDP growth and inflation, as well as unemployment. The members lowered their projections of GDP growth for the year, but increased their outlook on inflation. They also indicated that they expected unemployment to drop from earlier estimates.

According to the “dot plot”, the expectations of each member regarding interest rate increases were shown by the committee. It indicated that they could raise rates as early as 2022. According to CME FedWatch, markets are currently pricing in the next rate increase for September.

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