December 9 · Published January 29, 2004
Statement·Presser·Minutes
AGAlan GreenspanDecember 9, 2003 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes are consistent with the statement because both documents confirm the decision to maintain the federal funds rate at 1 percent, acknowledge that the risks to sustainable growth are roughly balanced, and note that the probability of an unwelcome fall in inflation has diminished to nearly equal that of a rise in inflation, while also agreeing that policy accommodation can be maintained for a considerable period.
Our reading compares the minutes of the December 9 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.
- Timothy F. Geithner
- Edward M. Gramlich
- Alan Greenspan
- Jack Guynn
- Donald L. Kohn
- Michael H. Moskow
- Mark W. Olson
- Robert T. Parry
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
It was agreed that the next meeting of the Committee would be held on Tuesday- Wednesday, January 27-28, 2004.
The meeting adjourned at 2:00 p.m.
Vincent R. Reinhart
Secretary
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The FOMC deleted the statement that risks to growth and inflation taken together were weighted toward the downside.
- The FOMC revised its inflation risk assessment to say the probability of an unwelcome fall in inflation now appears almost equal to that of a rise.
- The FOMC retained the "considerable period" phrase but linked it explicitly to low inflation and slack in resource use.
- The FOMC noted the risk of pernicious deflation was now regarded by most as virtually nil.
- The FOMC reported that M2 contracted significantly in November for the third consecutive month.
- The FOMC added Mr. Geithner as a voting member, replacing Mr. Stewart.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.