Fed sees rate hikes ‘sooner’ as inflation spikes

Federal Reserve officials last month were concerned about the Omicron impact, but believed the US economy had recovered enough from the pandemic downturn that interest rate hikes could come sooner than expected, according to minutes of the December meeting released Wednesday.

The document provides a behind-the-scenes look at the deliberations of the Fed's policy committee, which convened as the US central bank faced increasing pressure to act against the wave of inflation that sent consumer prices surging to multi-decade highs.