According to recently released minutes from the August 9 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, a few unidentified members felt that recent economic conditions warranted “a more substantial move” than holding the target range of the federal funds rate at 0 to 0.25% through mid-2013.

The minutes noted that participants discussed a range of policy tools available to promote a stronger economic recovery. However, the report also said that “some participants judged that none of the tools available to the Committee would likely do much to promote a faster economic recovery, either because the headwinds that the economy faced would unwind only gradually and that process could not be accelerated with monetary policy or because recent events had significantly lowered the path of potential output.”

The next FOMC meeting will be extended to two days, September 20 and 21, to provide participants additional time to discuss the possible costs and benefits of potentially utilizing various policy tools to stimulate the economy.

To read the full text of the minutes click here.