U.S. Fed officials agreed on rate cut at September meeting but many were wary of inflation risk

U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell at a press conference in September after the central bank's latest interest rate decision.

Federal Reserve officials agreed at their recent policy meeting that risks to the U.S. job market had increased enough to warrant an interest rate cut , but many remained wary of high inflation amid a debate about how much current borrowing costs were weighing on the economy, minutes of the Sept. 16-17 session showed on Wednesday.

“Most participants observed that it was appropriate to move the target range for the federal funds rate toward a more neutral setting because they judged that downside risks to employment had increased,” said the minutes, which captured the emerging discussion between Fed officials most concerned about protecting the labour marke