The minutes of the Federal Reserve meeting showed that officials unanimously believed at the December meeting that the interest rate hike cycle starting in 2022 may have ended. It is generally believed within the Federal Reserve that inflation has slowed down, especially the six-month annualized inflation rate, and there are signs that the supply chain is returning to normal, and as more people join the labor market, the labor market is beginning to loosen.

Federal Reserve officials said that raising interest rates above 5% suppressed consumer demand, thereby easing inflation. They did not discuss when to start cutting interest rates. The Federal Reserve's dot plot shows that the bank plans to cut interest rates three times in 2024. (Jin10)