Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee April meeting were published Wednesday US time:
- US dollar stays strong after Fed minutes
- Dollar breaks to new highs after the FOMC minutes
- FOMC minutes: 'A number of participants' said taper discussion might be appropriate at upcoming meetings
This, in summary, from Westpac as a recap (bolding is mine):
minutes mostly reiterated the April meeting policy statement and Chair Powell's press conference comments:
- economy was still far from the Committee's longer-run goals
- path ahead continued to depend on the course of the virus
- risks to the economic outlook remained
- the current stance of policy and policy guidance remained appropriate
annual inflation would rise near term due to base effects
The surprise element came from "a number of participants" indicating that "if the economy continued to make rapid progress toward the Committee's goals, it might be appropriate at some point in upcoming meetings to begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchase." This contrasts with Powell's recent comments that they were "not even thinking about thinking about tapering".
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As a ps, if you don't like surprises, or want to make a few $$$ from them, here was how to pre-empt the minutes, posted two days prior, my preview of the minutes:
- While Fed Dallas head Kaplan does not have a vote on the FOMC this year he does have a voice in deliberations and it'd be surprising if he said nothing at all on taper talk timing.
Thanks Mr. K!
