By Howard Schneider
作者：霍華德·施耐德
May 22 (Reuters) - Even as They Acknowledged Disappointment Over Recent Inflation Readings, Federal Reserve Officials at Their Last Policy Meeting Indicated They Still Had Faith Price Pressures Would Ease, IF Only Slowly, According to the Minutes of the U.S. Central Bank's April 30-May 1 Session.
5月22日（路透社）— 根據美國央行4月30日至5月1日的會議紀要，儘管他們承認對最近的通脹數據感到失望，但聯儲局官員在上次政策會議上表示，他們仍然相信價格壓力將緩解，即使只是緩慢緩解也是如此。
"Participants ... Noted That They Continued to Expect That Inflation Would Return to 2% Over the Medium Term," the Minutes Said, but "the Disinflation Would Likely Take Longer Than Previously Thought."
“參與者...會議紀要指出，他們繼續預計通貨膨脹率將在中期內恢復到2％，但是 “反通貨膨脹可能需要比先前想象的更長的時間。”
While the Policy Response for Now Would "Involve Maintaining" the Central Bank's Benchmark Policy Rate at Its Current Level, the Minutes, Released on Wednesday, Also Reflected Discussion of Possible Further Hikes.
儘管目前的政策應對措施將 “涉及維持” 央行的基準政策利率在目前的水平，但週三發佈的會議紀要也反映了對可能進一步加息的討論。
"Various Participants Mentioned a Willingness to Tighten Policy Further Should Risks to Inflation Materialize in a Way That Such an Action Became Appropriate," Employing a Modifier That Doesn't Fit in the Usual Set of Words, Like Some, Many, and Most, Used in the Minutes to Give a Sense of How Many Officials Voiced a Particular Opinion.
“各種參與者提到，如果通貨膨脹風險以適當的方式出現，他們願意進一步收緊政策。” 他們使用了與會議紀要中常用的措辭不相符的修飾語來了解有多少官員表達了特定觀點。
The Minutes Also Reflected Debate About Just How Restrictive Current Monetary Policy Is Given the Strength of the Economy, an Important Discussion Given the Need for Policy to Be "Sufficiently" Restrictive to Cool Inflation.
會議紀要還反映了關於當前貨幣政策如何限制經濟實力的爭論，鑑於政策需要 “足夠” 限制以降溫通貨膨脹，這是一次重要的討論。
Officials Since That Meeting Have Tamped Down Expectations for Imminent Interest Rate Cuts, Which Investors Now See Beginning in September.
自那次會議以來，官員們壓低了對即將降息的預期，投資者現在預計降息將從9月開始。
But Even as Fed Officials Acknowledged the Risk of Inflation Pressures Again Building in the Economy, They Largely Viewed the Data From the Start of the Year as a Temporary Setback in the Battle to Return Inflation to the Central Bank's 2% Target.
但是，儘管聯儲局官員承認經濟中通脹壓力再次增加的風險，但他們基本上將年初的數據視爲使通貨膨脹率恢復到央行2％目標的鬥爭中的暫時挫折。
The Meeting Was the Sixth Straight to Feature No Change in Interest Rates. Policymakers at This Point Seem Likely to Keep the Fed's Benchmark Rate on Hold in the 5.25%-5.50% Range Until September at Least, After Their Confidence in Easing Price Pressures Was Shaken by Higher-Than-Expected Inflation Through the First Three Months of This Year.
該會議是連續第六次以利率不變爲特徵的會議。在今年前三個月高於預期的通貨膨脹率動搖了他們對緩解價格壓力的信心之後，此時的決策者似乎有可能將聯儲局的基準利率維持在5.25％-5.50％的區間內，至少直到9月。
Emerging Signs
新興跡象
Fed Chair Jerome Powell, at His Post-Meeting Press Conference On May 1, Said It "Will Take Longer Than Previously Expected" for Policymakers to Become Comfortable That Inflation Will Resume the Decline Towards 2% That Had Cheered Them Through Much of Last Year.
聯儲局主席傑羅姆·鮑威爾在會後新聞發佈會上 5 月 1 日，表示 “需要比先前預期更長的時間”，決策者才能對通貨膨脹率將恢復至去年大部分時間爲他們歡呼的2％的下降感到滿意。
In the Weeks Since Then, However, Some Signs Have Emerged That Inflation Is Again Easing, Demand Is Softening and the Labor Market Is Coming More Into Balance. Fed Officials Are Watching Closely for Signs of a Possible Slowdown in Consumption, and Warnings From Consumer-Facing Companies Point in That Direction.
但是，從那以後的幾周裏， 一些跡象 事實證明，通貨膨脹再次緩解，需求疲軟，勞動力市場更加平衡。聯儲局官員正在密切關注消費可能放緩的跡象，面向消費者的公司的警告指向了這個方向。
Firms Ranging From McDonald's Mcd.n to PepsiCo Pep.o Have Flagged in Recent Weeks the Strain That U.S. Consumers Are Under Due to Sticky Food Inflation and the Rising Costs of Eating Out, Renting Homes and Getting a Mortgage.
麥當勞等公司 mcd.n 致百事可樂 Pep.o 最近幾周，人們指出，由於持續的食品通貨膨脹以及外出就餐、租房和獲得抵押貸款的成本上漲，美國消費者所承受的壓力。
"We Remain Cautious in Our Near-Term Growth Outlook and We Expect Consumer Discretionary Trends to Remain Pressured in the Short-Term," Christina Hennington, Chief Growth Officer for Target Tgt.n, Said on Wednesday in a Media Call To Discuss the Retailer's Quarterly Results.
塔吉特首席增長官克里斯蒂娜·亨寧頓說：“我們對短期增長前景保持謹慎，我們預計短期內非必需消費品趨勢仍將承受壓力。” tgt.n， 週三在媒體電話會議上說 討論零售商的季度業績。
Still, Fed Officials Have Said That Gaining "Greater Confidence That Inflation Is Moving Sustainably Toward 2 Percent" - a Standard for Pivoting to Rate Cuts That They Have Embedded in Their Policy Statements Since January - Will Take More Time.
儘管如此，聯儲局官員仍表示，“增強對通貨膨脹率持續向2％的信心”（這是他們自1月份以來在政策聲明中納入的降息的標準）將需要更多時間。
On Tuesday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller Put the Time Frame at "Several Months."
週二，聯儲局理事克里斯托弗·沃勒將時限定爲 “幾個月”。
"in the Absence of a Significant Weakening in the Labor Market, I Need to See Several More Months of Good Inflation Data Before I Would Be Comfortable Supporting an Easing in the Stance of Monetary Policy" He Told the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.
“在勞動力市場沒有明顯疲軟的情況下，我需要再看到幾個月的良好通脹數據，然後我才能放心地支持放鬆貨幣政策立場” 他告訴了 華盛頓的彼得森國際經濟研究所。
(Reporting by Howard Schneider; Editing by Paul Simao)
（霍華德·施耐德報道；保羅·西芒編輯）