Federal Reserve officials felt the U.S. economy could be ready for another interest rate increase in June, according to the minutes from the central bank’s April policy meeting released on Wednesday. Most participants in the policy-setting committee’s April 26-27 meeting said they wanted to see signs that economic growth was picking up in the second quarter and that employment and inflation were firming, the minutes showed. “Then it likely would be appropriate for the committee to increase the target range for the federal funds rate in June,” according to the minutes. The suggestion that a rate increase in June is firmly on the table suggests the Fed is closer to tightening monetary policy again than Wall Street had expected. The Fed lifted rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade. Prices for futures contracts on the Fed’s […]