Scotiabank: Powell Sounds Less Sure Of “Transitory” Conviction

Scotia thinks the Fed "struck the right balance between indicating further progress toward tapering and that a deeper taper dialogue occurred at this meeting, but they reinforced nearer-term focus upon the course of data and events over 'coming meetings.'"

• The few statement changes "leaned in the direction of cautious optimism and progress toward tapering".
• Scotia points out there may be something of a shift on inflation:
• Powell "is sounding less and less strident in terms of his conviction that inflation will magically disappear almost at each successive meeting and after every inflation report. When asked whether they have met their goals on the price stability side of the dual mandate, Powell deferred to the consensus by saying 'that is up to the committee'... This tone shift likely reflects the greater number of FOMC officials speaking out about inflation risk now versus earlier in the year."