January 26–27 · Published February 17, 2016
Statement·Presser·Minutes·Policy
JYJanet L. YellenJanuary 26–27, 2016 FOMC Minutes
Our reading
The minutes read somewhat more dovish relative to the statement because they reveal deeper concerns among participants about downside risks—such as financial market turbulence, potential global slowdowns, and uncertainty about inflation expectations—whereas the statement presents a more balanced and forward-looking assessment.
Our reading compares the minutes of the January 26–27 FOMC meeting with the FOMC statement issued at the end of that meeting, three weeks before the minutes were published.
Vote
- Lael Brainard
- James B. Bullard
- William C. Dudley
- Stanley Fischer
- Esther L. George
- Loretta J. Mester
- Jerome H. Powell
- Eric S. Rosengren
- Daniel K. Tarullo
- Janet L. Yellen
From the minutes
FOMC minutes
The Committee is maintaining its existing policy of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction, and it anticipates doing so until normalization of the level of the federal funds rate is well under way. This policy, by keeping the Committee's holdings of longer-term securities at sizable levels, should help maintain accommodative financial conditions."
Voting for this action: Janet L. Yellen, William C. Dudley, Lael Brainard, James Bullard, Stanley Fischer, Esther L. George, Loretta J. Mester, Jerome H. Powell, Eric Rosengren, and Daniel K. Tarullo.
Voting against this action: None.
Consistent with the Committee's decision to leave the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged, the Board of Governors took no action to change the interest rates on reserves or discount rates.
What changed from the previous meeting’s minutes
- The FOMC voted to leave the federal funds rate unchanged at 1/4 to 1/2 percent, after raising it in December.
- Participants noted spending and production data since December had been disappointing, unlike the prior meeting's solid readings.
- Market-based inflation compensation declined further, whereas it had been merely low in December.
- Participants agreed uncertainty had increased, with many seeing downside risks, replacing the prior balanced risk view.
- The statement added that the FOMC was closely monitoring global economic and financial developments.
- The voting roster changed, with Bullard, George, Mester, and Rosengren replacing Evans, Lacker, Lockhart, and Williams.
Summary generated automatically from the two documents.