Fed Considered More Asset Purchases, Minutes Show

Federal Reserve officials said at their meeting last month that the Fed may need to boost its purchases of assets to secure a stronger economic recovery, though policymakers agreed to hold off on such a move.

“Some members noted that a further increase in the total amount of purchases might well be warranted at some point to spur a more rapid pace of recovery,” stated the minutes of the April 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee, which were released Wednesday.

“All members concurred with waiting to see how the economy and financial conditions respond to the policy actions already in train” before making a decision, the minutes said.

At the meeting, the Fed kept the key interest rate that banks charge each other at a historic low rate of zero to 0.25%.