News

By Michael S. Derby

(Reuters) -Members of the boards of directors overseeing the Chicago and New York Federal Reserve banks voted in favor of lowering by a quarter percentage point the central bank’s discount rate during July, according to meeting minutes released on Tuesday.

The Fed said in a press release that while 10 of the 12 regional Fed banks wanted to maintain the discount rate at 5.5% in votes taken last month, the Chicago and New York Fed directors wanted that borrowing rate to move down to 5.25%.

The discount rate is what deposit-taking banks pay to borrow directly from the central bank. It is a rate that is generally set in relation to where the central bank's interest rate target range is also set. At the month-ending July Federal Open Market Committee meeting, the Fed maintained its interest rate target range at between 5.25% and 5.5%, with the discount rate steady at 5.5%.

The discount window meeting minutes offer an insight into the likely direction of monetary policy. With inflation pressures easing and risks around the job market rising, the Fed is almost certain to cut its rate target at the September policy meeting. Fed leader Jerome Powell said as much when he spoke on Friday at the Kansas City Fed's annual research conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Released last Wednesday, meeting minutes from the July FOMC noted the "vast majority" of policy makers are on board with a rate cut for next month.

The discount rate meeting minutes said that as of last month the Fed's Board of Governors expressed no view on the level of the rate.

In the minutes, regional Fed directors "generally reported stable economic activity, with many directors noting moderating inflation." The directors also said "labor market conditions reportedly continued to move into better balance, and wage growth stabilized or slowed in most districts."

The 12 regional Fed banks are overseen by directors drawn from the private sector. The minutes noted they were approved on July 22.