The Federal Open Market Committee may be open to raising interest rates. Minutes from the Fed’s July meeting show many officials said a rate hike may be needed if inflation does not come down. The Fed kept its key rate at 3.5 to 3.75 percent in July. Inflation has stayed above the Federal Reserve’s two percent goal for several years. Still, new inflation data has been softer. Markets now see less than a 50 percent chance of a rate hike at the Fed’s next meeting, which takes place in mid-September.
