Minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting revealed policymakers prioritized tariff-driven inflation risks over labor market concerns when keeping interest rates unchanged.

The Trump administration has pressured Powell, whose term as Fed chair expires next year, to step down as chair of the central bank.

The minutes of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, published on Wednesday, showed that “some [members] noted that it would not be feasible or appropriate to wait for complete clarity on the tariffs’ effects on inflation before adjusting the stance of monetary policy”.

The Federal Reserve's latest meeting minutes reveal economists are increasingly worried that inflation could be getting worse, raising concerns for consumers nationwide. Scripps News National Correspondent Joe Saint George breaks down which specific products consumers should monitor and key takeaways from last month's Fed meeting.

Ultimately, the Fed decided to hold rates steady at 4.25% to 4.5% but the move masked an unusually split committee — with two governors calling for cuts. This dissent marked the first multiple-governor challenge to policy in more than three decades, underscoring the unease inside the Fed as economic signals diverge.

Wall Street will be listening closely to Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech Friday at the Jackson Hole economic policy summit, where he could signal whether the central bank is ready to cut borrowing costs at its next meeting in September.

Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s July meeting show widespread concern over the slowing economy and the impacts of import tariffs.

Federal Reserve policymakers will be debating whether stubborn inflation or slower hiring is the bigger problem for the economy as they prepare for an annual conference in Jackson, Wyoming, next week and a crucial policy meeting in September.

South Africa's rand was little moved on Wednesday, despite the country's highest inflation reading for 10 months, as investors awaited minutes from the Fed's July meeting and a symposium later this week that could provide U.