November 12, 1997 FOMC Minutes

Vote

J. Alfred Broaddus, Jr. ↑ dissented
- He believed that a modest tightening of policy would be prudent in view of the recent strength in aggregate demand for goods and services; such demand appeared to be growing considerably more rapidly than the sustainable rate at which it could be supplied without an increase in inflation. While he recognized that a tightening at this meeting presented risks in view of recent financial and economic developments in East Asia, he believed these risks were outweighed by the risk that policy would have to be tightened more aggressively if action were delayed, demand remained robust, and the recent apparent reduction in inflationary expectations were reversed. The negative impact on economic activity in such circumstances would be markedly greater than if a more modest action were taken at this meeting.
Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
Edward M. Gramlich
Alan Greenspan
Jack Guynn
Edward W. Kelley, Jr.
William J. McDonough
Laurence H. Meyer
Michael H. Moskow
Robert T. Parry
Susan M. Phillips
Alice M. Rivlin

FOMC minutes

It was agreed that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday, December 16, 1997.

The meeting adjourned at 1:10 p.m.

Donald L. Kohn

Secretary

One member dissented from the unchanged policy stance, favoring a modest tightening.
The unemployment rate fell from 4.9 percent in August to 4.7 percent in October.
U.S. equity prices declined on balance, with turbulent trading, versus an increase previously.
The dollar appreciated significantly against Asian and Latin American currencies, not just mixed G-10 changes.
M2 and M3 growth moderated further in October, with M2 at the upper bound of its range.
The FOMC approved final revisions to information rules under the Electronic Freedom of Information Act.

Summary generated automatically from the two documents.