March 20–21 · Published April 11, 2007
Statement·Presser·Minutes
BBBen S. BernankeMarch 20–21, 2007 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes are consistent with the statement because they reflect the same key decisions and concerns: the FOMC voted to maintain the federal funds rate at 5-1/4 percent, acknowledged mixed economic indicators and ongoing housing adjustment, noted elevated core inflation readings with a predominant concern about inflation failing to moderate, and agreed to adjust the statement language to indicate that future policy adjustments would depend on the evolution of the outlook for both inflation and economic growth.
Our reading compares the minutes of the March 20–21 FOMC meeting with the FOMC statement issued at the end of that meeting, three weeks before the minutes were published.
Vote
- Ben S. Bernanke
- 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
Notation Vote
By notation vote completed on February 20, 2007, the Committee unanimously approved the minutes of the FOMC meeting held on January 30-31, 2007.
Vincent R. Reinhart
Secretary
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The statement no longer cites only the possibility of further firming, now mentions future policy adjustments depend on outlook.
- The predominant policy concern is now explicitly stated as the risk that inflation will fail to moderate as expected.
- The statement notes economic indicators had been mixed, replacing the earlier reference to somewhat firmer growth.
- The housing market is described as an ongoing adjustment, not showing tentative signs of stabilization.
- The minutes report increased downside risks to economic growth due to subprime mortgage developments and weak business investment.
- The statement drops the phrase "some inflation risks remain" in favor of a broader policy adjustment language.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.