The chances of the US federal reserve raising interest rates at the next meeting have been dealt a blow. Lael Brainard, a cautious voice on the federal open market committee explained that the case for raising rates was now “less compelling”. Low inflation, ‘slack’ in the labour market and weak demand from abroad were all cited as reasons for the delay. However other committee members are up for a rate rise creating a bit of uncertainty among business and markets as to the direction of US monetary policy.

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