The details of the meeting, at which the Fed raised interest rates for the fifth time since the 2008 financial crisis, also showed that officials may be less certain about the impact of fiscal stimulus on raising inflation rates than investors had thought. "I think people had taken the two dissents and the lack of a firmer policy path to suggest that there had been an increased number of participants worried about the lack of inflation or the lack of wage growth with declining unemployment, and I don't really see that," said Michael Gapen, chief US economist at Barclays in New York.
Bond markets around the world stabilized from Tuesday's selloff tied to hawkish comments from two European Central Bank officials, which propelled the 10-year German Bund yield to a two-month peak and the five-year US yield to its highest level since April 2011. Some investors said Tuesday's yield rise was partly a reversal of the drop linked to typical year-end buying.
The market's relatively muted reaction, however, indicated investors may not be convinced the strong data will push up inflation rates. At 3:34 pm (2034 GMT), the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield was down 1.8 basis points at 2.447 percent, while the 30-year yield was down 2.5 basis points at 2.785 percent, both compared to Tuesday's close.
The two-year yield reached a nine-year high at 1.939 percent. It was last down 0.8 basis point at 1.931 percent.