March 18
Statement·Presser·Minutes
AGAlan GreenspanMarch 18, 2003 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes are consistent with the statement because both documents reflect the FOMC's decision to maintain the federal funds rate at 1-1/4 percent, acknowledge the mixed and disappointing economic data, attribute weakness partly to geopolitical uncertainties (such as the imminent Iraq war), and agree to refrain from characterizing the balance of risks due to these uncertainties, opting instead for heightened surveillance.
Our reading compares the minutes of the March 18 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
The meeting adjourned at 12:50 p.m.
Following the outbreak of war in Iraq, the members of the Committee participated in a series of conference calls held on March 25, April 1, April 8, and April 16 in order to keep abreast of the latest information and to exchange views regarding the possible implications of current developments for the economic outlook and monetary policy. No policy decisions were made in this period.
Vincent R. Reinhart
Secretary
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The FOMC omitted its usual balance-of-risks statement from the March 2003 press release.
- The dollar was little changed over the intermeeting period, versus a substantial depreciation previously.
- M2 grew rapidly in February, after falling considerably in December.
- Retail sales were lower in January and February, with motor vehicle sales declining in both months.
- The FOMC noted war with Iraq was imminent, a factor absent from the prior minutes.
- The next meeting was set for May 6, 2003, instead of March 18, 2003.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.