Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has been under pressure from President Trump to lower the central bank's benchmark interest rate.

Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago President Austan Goolsbee said while some recent inflation readings have come in better than expected, he hopes one “dangerous” data point is just a blip.

The administration’s effort to oust a Fed governor as part of a pressure campaign for lower borrowing costs created an inescapable distraction at this year’s Jackson Hole conference.

Another contested meeting would mark further deviation from the Fed's traditional consensus-driven decision-making process.

Minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting revealed policymakers prioritized tariff-driven inflation risks over labor market concerns when keeping interest rates unchanged.

The central bank retired a previous strategy and on Friday unveiled a new approach that updates how inflation and employment are balanced.

The minutes of the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee, published on Wednesday, showed that “some [members] noted that it would not be feasible or appropriate to wait for complete clarity on the tariffs’ effects on inflation before adjusting the stance of monetary policy”.

South Africa's rand was little moved on Wednesday, despite the country's highest inflation reading for 10 months, as investors awaited minutes from the Fed's July meeting and a symposium later this week that could provide U.