Fed officials say outlook on economy uncertain

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve officials regarded the U.S. economy's outlook as particularly uncertain last month, according to minutes released Wednesday, and said they would "proceed carefully" in deciding whether to further raise their benchmark interest rate.

Such cautious views are generally seen as evidence the Fed isn't necessarily inclined to raise rates in the near future. Its next meeting is in three weeks.

Economic data from the past several months "generally suggested that inflation was slowing," the minutes of the Sept. 19-20 meeting said. The policymakers added that further evidence of declining inflation was needed to be sure it would slow to the Fed's 2% target.

Several of the 19 policymakers said with the Fed's key rate "likely at or near its peak, the focus" of their policy decisions should "shift from how high to raise the policy rate to how long" to keep it at economically restrictive levels.