15 Feb 2016
FOMC minutes in the limelight this week - Nomura
Research Team at Nomura, notes that the FOMC made changes to its statement, which acknowledged that recent economic data have been weak and that recent financial and foreign developments may pose a risk to the US economy.
Key Quotes
“The minutes should enable us to better understand how the Committee thinks these recent economic and financial developments might affect the economic outlook and, importantly, the path of monetary policy. Any discussions about the Committee’s expectation for rate hikes this year and the sizable gap with market’s expectations for rates will also be important.
Of course, we will look for further discussions about the “neutral” interest rate. It will also be worth noting the reasoning behind the FOMC making some subtle changes to its statement of long-term strategy. The new statement says the FOMC will be “concerned” if inflation deviates “persistently” from its target and mentions for the first time that the FOMC’s 2% target is symmetric.”
Key Quotes
“The minutes should enable us to better understand how the Committee thinks these recent economic and financial developments might affect the economic outlook and, importantly, the path of monetary policy. Any discussions about the Committee’s expectation for rate hikes this year and the sizable gap with market’s expectations for rates will also be important.
Of course, we will look for further discussions about the “neutral” interest rate. It will also be worth noting the reasoning behind the FOMC making some subtle changes to its statement of long-term strategy. The new statement says the FOMC will be “concerned” if inflation deviates “persistently” from its target and mentions for the first time that the FOMC’s 2% target is symmetric.”