Fed minutes: Conditions could 'soon warrant' a rate hike

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve officials believed last month that near-term risks to the U.S. economy had subsided and that an interest rate increase could soon be warranted.

[...] a key factor holding the Fed officials back was the stubbornly slow rate of inflation, which has been running below the central bank's 2 percent target for more than four years, according to the minutes.

Fed officials have also expressed concern about the tepid pace of U.S. growth, weakness in worker productivity, excessively low inflation and the long-term consequences of Britain's vote in June to leave the European Union.

If labor market conditions tightened so much that inflation pressures jumped, the Fed would have to respond with a more rapid series of rate hikes that could jeopardize the recovery.

In addition to lingering problems in Europe, some officials noted weakness in other parts of the global economy, including uncertainties over China's currency policies and the growth in Chinese debt.