Federal Reserve policymakers saw a potential threat to US growth from the global slowdown and a possible decrease in inflation in their last meeting.

But they also said a sharp fall in oil prices would likely bring relief to Americans and boost overall consumption, supporting the economy.

The solid gains in the labour market underpinned a general sense of confidence among attendees at the October 28-29 meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which took the momentous step of drawing a close to its crisis-era quantitative easing stimulus program.

But they appeared sensitive to possible deflationary trends that could be driven by slowdowns in other economies.

“Participants pointed to a somewhat weaker economic outlook and increased downside risks in Europe, China, and Japan, as well as to the strengthening of the dollar,” the minutes said.

“It was observed that if foreign economic or financial conditions deteriorated further, US economic growth over the medium term might be slower than currently expected.

“However, many participants saw the effects of recent developments on the domestic economy as likely to be quite limited.”