Federal Reserve rate-setters said in their latest meeting they aim to keep interest rates unchanged even if there’s an improvement in global conditions, as they stick doggedly to their “patient” approach to policy.

Minutes to the Fed’s most recent policy meeting, held on April 30 and May 1, showed that members of the central bank’s rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee expected policy to be held steady for some time to come after they kept the target range at 2.25-2.5 per cent.

Policymakers engaged in an extended debate over the composition of the central bank’s balance sheet in the longer term. Many participants said they wanted increased scope to counter a future downturn by shifting from shorter-dated bond holdings to longer-term debt, in the hopes this would provide an extra boost in a future downturn.