December 21 · Published February 3, 2000
Statement·Presser·Minutes
AGAlan GreenspanDecember 21, 1999 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes read as more hawkish relative to the statement because they detail the FOMC's underlying concerns about inflationary pressures and the potential need for future tightening, whereas the statement emphasizes the immediate, overriding priority of ensuring a smooth transition into the Year 2000, which justifies the decision to hold rates steady.
Our reading compares the minutes of the December 21 FOMC meeting with the FOMC statement issued at the end of that meeting, three weeks before the minutes were published.
Vote
- Boehne
- Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
- Edward M. Gramlich
- Alan Greenspan
- Edward W. Kelley, Jr.
- William J. McDonough
- Robert D. McTeer, Jr.
- Laurence H. Meyer
- Michael H. Moskow
- Stern
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
Donald L. Kohn
Secretary
Footnotes
1 Attended portion of meeting relating to the Committee's consideration of the Report of Examination of the System Open Market Account.
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The FOMC voted to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 5.5 percent in November, then voted to maintain it at 5.5 percent in December.
- The November directive was symmetric; in December, most members preferred retaining symmetry, with a few favoring an asymmetric tightening bias.
- The December minutes noted retail sales rose appreciably in October and November, while November minutes reported flat sales in September and October.
- The December minutes reported M3 surged in November, whereas November minutes said M3 accelerated in September and October.
- The December meeting adopted proposals to issue press statements after every meeting and replace the policy bias with a risk assessment, effective in 2000.
- The December minutes cited rising mortgage rates and scarce construction workers as factors in housing softness, a detail absent from November minutes.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.