Not all Fed officials wanted to raise interest rates in July

Most members of the Federal Reserve were concerned at their last meeting about "significant upside risks" to inflation and suggested more rate hikes could be needed even as some urged caution, according to meeting minutes released by the central bank Wednesday.

"Almost all" argued for a rate hike in July, while "a couple" of participants indicated they favored leaving rates unchanged.


A similar division within the Fed has surfaced in public comments since the July meeting, when the Federal Open Market Committee raised rates by a quarter percentage point to a range of 5.25% to 5.50%.


Read more: What the Fed rate hike means for bank accounts, CDs, loans, and credit cards

San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari and Fed Governor Michelle Bowman have all argued in recent weeks that there is more work to do to bring inflation down to the Fed's target of 2%.


On the flip side, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker has said the Fed may be at a point where the central bank can hold interest rates steady and allow previous rate hikes to continue lowering inflation.


The same differing sentiments were on display at the meeting in July.


"Most" in the meeting cited "significant upside risks to inflation, which could require further tightening of monetary policy," according to the minutes.


But "some" urged caution, noting the "the possibility that the macroeconomic effects of the tightening in financial conditions since the beginning of last year could prove more substantial than anticipated."


Fed Chair Jerome Powell could reset expectations next week when he's expected to give a major policy speech at the Fed’s annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo., put on by the Kansas City Fed.