Inflation Fears Drove Larger Fed Rate-Increase in June

WASHINGTON—Federal Reserve officials concluded at their meeting last month that they needed to pick up the pace of interest-rate increases because the inflation outlook had deteriorated and that, as a result, rates would need to rise to levels designed to deliberately slow economic growth.

Officials voted to raise their benchmark rate by 0.75 percentage point in June, a bigger increase than their half-point move in May. Officials anticipated another rate increase of either a half percentage point or 0.75 point would be warranted at their gathering later this month, according to minutes from the Fed’s June 14-15 meeting, released Wednesday.