Federal Reserve: US still on track for rate rise but Greece and China woes spark concerns

Minutes from the US Federal Reserve June 2015 policy meeting have revealed that the Central Bank believes there will be interest rate rise later in the year - but there are concerns about the ongoing crisis in Greece.

Although the meeting took place on 16-17 June - before Athens defaulted on a loan to the IMF - it said: "[M]any participants expressed concern that a failure of Greece and its official creditors to resolve their differences could result in disruptions in financial markets in the euro area, with possible spillover effects on the United States."

The minutes from the meeting, released on 8 July, added: "Most participants judged that the conditions for policy firming had not yet been achieved; a number of them cautioned against a premature decision.

"Many participants emphasised that, in order to determine that the criteria for beginning policy normalisation had been met, they would need additional information indicating that economic growth was strengthening, that labour market conditions were continuing to improve, and that inflation was moving back toward the Committee's objective."

Concerns over Greece and China

Analysts believe that the Fed is still on track to raise rates in September.

"Our initial reaction is that they don't contain a lot of surprises," Laura Rosner, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York, told Reuters.

The minutes also showed worries about the slowing pace of China's growth. The Chinese government has been forced to step in after the stock markets there plunged.

"You can't ignore that potential impact, not just market-wise but economically of what's going on in Europe and what's going on in China," Kathy Jones, fixed income strategist at Charles Schwab, told CNBC. "They're prepared to deal with market events globally. They'll say that's not really their concern. But when it drags on to this extent and as significant as it's been, it has to give them pause."