January 28–29 · Published March 20, 2003
Statement·Presser·Minutes·Policy
AGAlan GreenspanJanuary 28–29, 2003 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes are consistent with the statement because they confirm that the FOMC voted to maintain the federal funds rate at 1-1/4 percent and retained a balanced risk assessment, while also echoing the statement's view that geopolitical risks were restraining spending and hiring but that accommodative policy and productivity growth would support an improving economy as those risks lifted.
Our reading compares the minutes of the January 28–29 FOMC meeting with the FOMC statement issued at the end of that meeting, three weeks before the minutes were published.
Vote
- Ben S. Bernanke
- Susan S. Bies
- J. Alfred Broaddus, Jr.
- Roger W. Ferguson, Jr.
- Edward M. Gramlich
- Alan Greenspan
- Jack Guynn
- Donald L. Kohn
- William J. McDonough
- Michael H. Moskow
- Mark W. Olson
- Robert T. Parry
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
2. Attended portion of meeting relating to FOMC rule changes. Return to text
3. Attended portion of meeting relating to the FOMC's review of the economic outlook. Return to text
4. Election effective February 1, 2003. Return to text
5. Secretary's note: Advice subsequently was received that the selection of Mr. Kos as Manager was satisfactory to the board of directors of the New York Reserve Bank. Return to text
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The December 10, 2002 meeting retained the federal funds rate at 1-1/4 percent, while the November 6, 2002 meeting had cut it by 50 basis points.
- The dollar depreciated substantially against major currencies in the January 2003 period, versus a slight appreciation in the December 2002 period.
- M2 growth fell considerably in December 2002, compared to a slowdown in November from October's elevated pace.
- The January 2003 minutes included individual 2003 GDP growth projections with a central tendency of 3-1/4 to 3-1/2 percent, absent in the December 2002 minutes.
- The January 2003 meeting noted a surge in motor vehicle sales in December, while the December 2002 meeting cited a decline in sales from an extraordinary summer pace.
- The January 2003 minutes referenced intensified geopolitical tensions over Iraq and North Korea, a factor not mentioned in the December 2002 minutes.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.