Fed Review - November 2020: December Action Not A Done Deal

Fed Review: November 2020 - December Action Not A Done Deal

By Tim Cooper

• The lack of action at the November FOMC meeting, and indeed the lack of market reaction, came as little surprise, with not much expected this week.
• No sell-side analysts whose previews we had read had expected a move at this meeting as their core view, due to proximity to the U.S. election, among other factors. The statement was largely unchanged, and Powell kept his cards close to his chest in the press conference for the most part.
• The December FOMC meeting has been seen as the next logical pivot point for Fed policy.
• But while the Fed clearly kept the door open to a shift in its asset purchase program at the next meeting, we sensed a slightly more cautious tone in post-meeting analysts' notes on this front.
• Our Fed Review includes summaries of 19 sell-side analysts' takes on the meeting and the policy outlook, as well as an abridged transcript of the Powell press conference and a comparison of the statement vs the previous meeting.

FedRev-Nov2020.pdf