Some voting Federal Reserve policymakers expect that a U.S. interest rate increase will be needed soon, although there is general agreement that more data is needed before such a move, according to the minutes from the Fed's July policy meeting.
"Some ... members anticipated that economic conditions would soon warrant taking another step in removing policy accommodation," the Fed said in the minutes, which were released on Wednesday.
The minutes showed that members of the U.S. central bank's rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee were generally upbeat about the U.S. economic outlook and labor market, but several said a slowdown in the future pace of hiring would argue against a near-term hike.
"It looks like they may be a little bit less hawkish than would have been expected given (New York Federal Reserve President William) Dudley's remarks yesterday. There does seem to an array of opinions at this meeting. The (Treasury yield) curve is steepening a little bit, so it's probably less hawkish than the market was positioned for, that's the initial thought," Gennadiy Goldberg, an interest rate strategist at TD Securities, told Reuters.
Ten policymakers currently are members of the FOMC, and seven other officials from regional Fed banks also participated in the July 26-27 meeting but did not have a vote on policy.
Of the broader group of policymakers, several expressed concern that low interest rates could hurt financial stability.
Major U.S. stock averages last traded about flat, slightly higher than before the minutes' release.
The U.S. dollar hit a session low against the yen at about 100.15 yen. The euro touched a session high against the dollar of about $1.1295.
Longer-dated U.S. Treasury prices rose to session highs, pushing yields lower. The 10-year Treasury yield last traded around 1.552 percent.
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— CNBC contributed to this report