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FOMC statement of April 25, 2012

This statement of the Federal Open Market Committee, compared sentence by sentence with the scheduled statement before it: what changed in the text, and how the Committee voted.

In short

The Federal Open Market Committee released this statement on April 25, 2012. Compared with the previous scheduled statement of March 13, 2012: 7 sentences changed, 2 were added, 0 were removed, and 8 stayed the same. In words: 49 added, 35 removed. The vote on this statement: 1 member voted against: Jeffrey M. Lacker. On the March 13, 2012 statement: 1 member voted against: Jeffrey M. Lacker.

FOMC statement · April 25, 2012

Changed sentences against the previous scheduled statement (March 13, 2012)

8 unchanged · 7 changed · 2 added · 0 removed · words +49 / −35

March 13, 2012
1 member voted against: Jeffrey M. Lacker.
April 25, 2012
1 member voted against: Jeffrey M. Lacker.
Changed

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in January March suggests that the economy has been expanding moderately.

Changed

Labor market conditions have improved further in recent months; the unemployment rate has declined notably in recent months but remains elevated.

Added

Despite some signs of improvement, the housing sector remains depressed.

Changed

Inflation has been subdued in recent months picked up somewhat, although mainly reflecting higher prices of crude oil and gasoline have increased lately.

Changed

However, longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.

Added

The Committee expects economic growth to remain moderate over coming quarters and then to pick up gradually.

Changed

Consequently, the Committee expects moderate economic growth over coming quarters and consequently anticipates that the unemployment rate will decline gradually toward levels that the Committee it judges to be consistent with its dual mandate.

Changed

Strains in global financial markets have eased, though they continue to pose significant downside risks to the economic outlook.

Changed

The recent increase in oil and gasoline prices will push up earlier this year is expected to affect inflation only temporarily, but and the Committee anticipates that subsequently inflation will run at or below the rate that it judges most consistent with its dual mandate.

Show the 8 unchanged sentences
Unchanged

Household spending and business fixed investment have continued to advance.

Unchanged

Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability.

Unchanged

To support a stronger economic recovery and to help ensure that inflation, over time, is at the rate most consistent with its dual mandate, the Committee expects to maintain a highly accommodative stance for monetary policy.

Unchanged

In particular, the Committee decided today to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and currently anticipates that economic conditions--including low rates of resource utilization and a subdued outlook for inflation over the medium run--are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels for the federal funds rate at least through late 2014.

Unchanged

The Committee also decided to continue its program to extend the average maturity of its holdings of securities as announced in September.

Unchanged

The Committee is maintaining its existing policies 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.

Unchanged

The Committee will regularly review the size and composition of its securities holdings and is prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate to promote a stronger economic recovery in a context of price stability.

Unchanged

Voting against the action was Jeffrey M. Lacker, who does not anticipate that economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate through late 2014.

Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — the statement on federalreserve.gov · March 13, 2012

How to read this page

The page sets this statement of the Federal Open Market Committee next to the scheduled statement before it, sentence by sentence. The Fed’s sentences are shown as published, in English.

In a changed sentence, the words that were dropped are struck through and the new words are underlined. A sentence found only in the newer statement is marked as added; one found only in the older statement, as removed. Sentences that did not change are collapsed.

The counts say how many sentences fall into each of those groups, and how many words were added and removed. They count edits; they do not weigh them.

The vote lines show how the Committee voted on each statement and who voted against, as the statement itself reports it.

The comparison is made by a fixed rule, not by a model, and it reads nothing into the text.

The Fed’s text is shown in its original English and is not translated. This page only shows what changed in the text; it is not a reading of direction, tone or risk, and it is not part of the MVIE score. MVIE Pro is independent research and is not affiliated with the Federal Reserve.