April 30-May 1 FOMC minutes: Patient "For Some..>

FED: April 30-May 1 FOMC minutes: Patient "For Some Time"

-------------------------------------------------------------------

- FOMC members said that a patient approach to policy adjustment "would 

likely remain appropriate for some time" given moderate economic growth 

and muted inflation, even if global conditions improve.

- Many of the participants saw the recent soft measures of inflation as 

driven by "idiosyncratic" or transitory factors, particularly apparel and 

portfolio management, a sentiment echoed in Chair Powell's comments.

- A few participants felt that firmer policy may be needed if the 

economy evolves as expected, but a few others felt that resource 

utilization was not as high as data has suggested.

- Several were concerned about inflation expectations being anchored 

below 2% if inflation did not show signs of improvement.

- The staff suggested that the FOMC consider tweaking the overnight 

repurchase rate (ON RRP) before considering another IOER cut to mitigate 

risk of increased take-up at the ON RRP facility.

- A number of participants said risks and uncertainties had moderated 

and that financial market conditions had improved since the end of 2018. 

- They discussed the long-term portfolio options (short vs 

market-comparable), but came to no conclusion and said they would not 

need to decide for some time. They also expect to begin strategic 

framework discussion in second half 2019.