Five regional Federal Reserve Bank presidents have weighed in on the trajectory of monetary policy over the past few days, showcasing the conflicting views within the bank's ranks over whether monthly asset purchases should be cut back a time when US unemployment has dropped to a five-year low but question marks about Washington's ability to agree on a budget for 2014 and raise the country's debt ceiling still linger.

In yesterday's call on the Fed to "begin tapering back our bond purchases at