US Federal Reserve Delays Rate Hike to Evaluate Consequences of Brexit

Members of the US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) agreed to wait for additional economic data after the decision of the United Kingdom to exit the European Union, or Brexit, in order to decide how to proceed on interest rates, according to a summarized record of the proceedings released on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — On June 23, UK voters backed Brexit by a slim majority of 52 percent in favor and 48 percent against.

"Participants generally thought that it would be prudent to wait for the outcome of the upcoming referendum in the United Kingdom on membership in the European Union in order to assess the consequences of the vote for global financial market conditions and the US economic outlook," the record revealed.

On June 14-15, the FOMC, which operates under the US Federal Reserve, gathered to discuss a potential interest rate hike. The Committee, however, decided to leave the interest rate at the 0.25-0.5 percent level.

On June 21, US Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said the decision by the majority voters in the United Kingdom to exit the European Union could have major negative economic consequences.