During their recent meeting, Federal Reserve officials highlighted the growing concerns about the possibility of inflation worsening. This was a significant factor in their decision to maintain the current benchmark interest rate.

As detailed in the minutes from the Jan. 28-29 meeting, which were made public on Wednesday, factors such as President Donald Trump’s proposed tariffs, potential mass deportations of migrants, and robust consumer spending were identified as elements that could contribute to an increase in inflation throughout the year.

The 19 officials from the Federal Reserve responsible for determining interest rates expressed the view that they would prefer to observe more substantial improvements in inflation conditions before considering any additional rate cuts.

They kept the Fed’s key rate at 4.3%, after cutting it from a two-decade high of 5.3% late last year.

The Fed’s pause makes it less likely that borrowing costs for consumers, including for mortgages, auto loans, and credit cards, will decline anytime soon.

Yet just last week, the government released data that suggested inflation was actually getting worse, leading many economists to forecast just one — if any — rate cut this year.

Consumer prices rose 3% in January from a year ago, the Labor Department said, up from a 3 1/2 year low of 2.4% last September.

The Fed, however, more closely follows a separate inflation measure that is shows inflation is closer to 2.5%.

The minutes also cited a “high degree of uncertainty” surrounding the economy, which made it appropriate for the Fed to “take a careful approach” in considering any further changes to its key interest rate.

All of the Fed’s policymakers supported keeping its key rate unchanged last month, the minutes said.

The unanimity comes after signs of a growing disagreement in recent months between those officials who supported further rate reductions and those more worried about stubborn inflation.