Fed, Still Harboring Inflation Concerns, May Wait to Raise Rate

BY

Federal Reserve policy makers, who gathered at their annual mountain retreat this weekend, may be more concerned by inflation than some investors assume, though not enough to resume raising interest rates yet.

Economists who scrutinize the Fed and attended the conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, said the central bank is caught between a housing slump that's slowing economic growth and consumer-price increases that are too high for the comfort of some officials. The result may be at least one more decision to leave interest rates unchanged before pushing them higher.