January 30–31 · Published February 21, 2007
Statement·Presser·Minutes·Policy
BBBen S. BernankeJanuary 30–31, 2007 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes read somewhat more hawkish relative to the statement because they explicitly emphasize that the prevailing level of inflation was "uncomfortably high," highlight that the upside risks to inflation remained the FOMC's "predominant concern," and stress that a failure of inflation to moderate could impair the economy's long-term performance—language that goes beyond the statement's more measured acknowledgment of "some inflation risks" and underscores a stronger vigilance against persistent price pressures.
Our reading compares the minutes of the January 30–31 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
- Thomas M. Hoenig
- Donald L. Kohn
- Randall S. Kroszner
- Cathy E. Minehan
- Frederic S. Mishkin
- Michael H. Moskow
- William Poole
- Kevin Warsh
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
By notation vote completed on January 5, 2007, the Committee unanimously selected William C. Dudley to serve at the pleasure of the Committee as Manager, System Open Market Account, on the understanding that his selection was subject to being satisfactory to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Secretary's note: Advice subsequently was received that the selection of Mr. Dudley as Manager was satisfactory to the board of directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Vincent R. Reinhart
Secretary
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The December statement described housing cooling as "substantial"; the October statement did not.
- The December minutes noted tentative signs of housing stabilization; the October minutes did not.
- The December minutes reported improved core inflation readings; the October minutes saw no convincing downtrend.
- The December meeting had no dissents; the October meeting had one dissent from Mr. Lacker.
- The December minutes included economic projections for 2007-2008; the October minutes did not.
- The December minutes reported the dollar rose; the October minutes reported the dollar fell.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.