December 19 · Published February 2, 1996
Statement·Presser·Minutes
AGAlan GreenspanDecember 19, 1995 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes read more hawkish relative to the statement because they include detailed dissenting views from members who preferred an unchanged policy stance, citing concerns about limited evidence of further disinflation, potential risks of an easing following a strong market rally, and the possibility of faster growth intensifying inflationary pressures—nuances that are absent from the concise, forward-looking statement.
Our reading compares the minutes of the December 19 FOMC meeting with the FOMC statement issued at the end of that meeting, three weeks before the minutes were published.
Vote
- Alan S. Blinder
- Alan Greenspan
- Thomas M. Hoenig
- Edward W. Kelley, Jr.
- Lawrence B. Lindsey
- William J. McDonough
- Thomas C. Melzer
- Cathy E. Minehan
- Michael H. Moskow
- Susan M. Phillips
- Janet L. Yellen
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
It was agreed that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday-Wednesday, January 30-31, 1996.
The meeting adjourned at 1:05 p.m.
Donald L. Kohn
Secretary
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The FOMC shifted from maintaining to slightly easing reserve pressure.
- All members voted for the action; no dissents were recorded.
- Mr. Lindsey changed from dissenting for easing to voting with the majority.
- The unemployment rate edged up from 5.5 to 5.6 percent.
- The dollar rose slightly against G-10 currencies instead of declining.
- The directive changed from no presumption to a slight easing bias.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.