HSBC say that they do not expect any major surprises to come from the minutes of the 31 October to 1 November meeting.

  • The policy statement released in November described economic activity as "solid", despite the recent hurricanes. In addition, the statement noted that inflation was expected to remain below 2% in the near term but to stabilise around the 2% target over the medium term.
  • In recent weeks, many Fed policymakers have said that they are watching inflation closely. Even so, a number of these officials have expressed the view that they would likely be willing to support a rate hike in December.
  • The November statement had little new to say about the balance sheet normalisation programme initiated by the Fed in October. However, the minutes of the meeting are likely to show some discussion by the Fed staff and policymakers regarding how the programme is proceeding so far.

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The Federal Open Market Committee meeting of the 31 October - 1 November meeting is due at 1900 GMT on 22 November 2017