March 27–28 · Published April 18, 2006
Statement·Presser·Minutes
BBBen S. BernankeMarch 27–28, 2006 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes read consistent with the statement because they confirm the FOMC's decision to raise the federal funds rate by 25 basis points to 4.75 percent, as stated, and they echo the statement's language about the need for "some further policy firming" to balance risks to growth and inflation, while also noting that the decision was unanimous and aligned with the statement's assessment of economic conditions.
Our reading compares the minutes of the March 27–28 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
- Timothy F. Geithner
- Jack Guynn
- Donald L. Kohn
- Randall S. Kroszner
- Jeffrey M. Lacker
- Mark W. Olson
- Sandra Pianalto
- Kevin Warsh
- Janet L. Yellen
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
Vincent R. Reinhart
Secretary
Footnotes
1. Attended Monday's session only.Return to text
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The federal funds rate target was raised to 4.5 percent in January and to 4.75 percent in March.
- The January minutes noted Alan Greenspan's last meeting; the March minutes recorded Ben Bernanke's election as Chairman.
- The March minutes reported the economy rebounding strongly in the current quarter, while January cited slow fourth-quarter growth.
- The March minutes stated resource utilization was consistent with little or no economic slack; January mentioned possible increases in resource utilization.
- The March minutes noted the next meeting would be one day, May 10, 2006, due to scheduling conflicts.
- The March minutes added Kroszner and Warsh as voting members; January included Ferguson and Greenspan.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.