Only few on Fed supported QE3 in January (by Greg Robb)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Only a few members of the Federal Open Market Committee favored another round of quantitative easing, or QE3, according to minutes of the last meeting released Wednesday. Others on the Fed's interest rate setting body indicated that QE3 "could" become necessary if the economy lost momentum or if inflation seemed likely to remain below the 2% target for a long time, the minutes show. A majority on the FOMC thought that sales of assets on its balance sheet would start "no earlier" than 2015. This fits with the FOMC's statement after the Jan. 24-25 meeting that it plans to hold rates at exceptionally low levels through late 2014, if the economy unfolds as now forecast. Several FOMC members suggested dropping or simplifying this forward guidance now that Fed officials provide their projected path of interest rates as part of their economic projections.