FOMC statement of November 2, 2016
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 November 2, 2016. Compared with the previous scheduled statement of September 21, 2016: 8 sentences changed, 0 were added, 0 were removed, and 13 stayed the same. In words: 21 added, 29 removed. The vote on this statement: 2 members voted against: Esther L. George, Loretta J. Mester. On the September 21, 2016 statement: 3 members voted against: Esther L. George, Loretta J. Mester, Eric Rosengren.
FOMC statement · November 2, 2016
Changed sentences against the previous scheduled statement (September 21, 2016)
13 unchanged · 8 changed · 0 added · 0 removed · words +21 / −29
- September 21, 2016
- 3 members voted against: Esther L. George, Loretta J. Mester, Eric Rosengren.
- November 2, 2016
- 2 members voted against: Esther L. George, Loretta J. Mester.
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in July September indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and growth of economic activity has picked up from the modest pace seen in the first half of this year.
Although the unemployment rate is little changed in recent months, job gains have been solid, on average.
Household spending has been growing strongly rising moderately but business fixed investment has remained soft.
Inflation has continued to run increased somewhat since earlier this year but is still below the Committee's 2 percent longer-run objective, partly reflecting earlier declines in energy prices and in prices of non-energy imports.
Market-based measures of inflation compensation have moved up but remain low; most survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations are little changed, on balance, in recent months.
Inflation is expected to remain low in the near term, in part because of earlier declines in energy prices, but to rise to 2 percent over the medium term as the transitory effects of past declines in energy and import prices dissipate and the labor market strengthens further.
The Committee judges that the case for an increase in the federal funds rate has strengthened continued to strengthen but decided, for the time being, to wait for some further evidence of continued progress toward its objectives.
Voting against the action were: Esther L. George , and Loretta J. Mester, and Eric Rosengren, each of whom preferred at this meeting to raise the target range for the federal funds rate to 1/2 to 3/4 percent.
Show the 13 unchanged sentences
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability.
The Committee expects that, with gradual adjustments in the stance of monetary policy, economic activity will expand at a moderate pace and labor market conditions will strengthen somewhat further.
Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced.
The Committee continues to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments.
Against this backdrop, the Committee decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1/4 to 1/2 percent.
The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting further improvement in labor market conditions and a return to 2 percent inflation.
In determining the timing and size of future adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will assess realized and expected economic conditions relative to its objectives of maximum employment and 2 percent inflation.
This assessment will take into account a wide range of information, including measures of labor market conditions, indicators of inflation pressures and inflation expectations, and readings on financial and international developments.
In light of the current shortfall of inflation from 2 percent, the Committee will carefully monitor actual and expected progress toward its inflation goal.
The Committee expects that economic conditions will evolve in a manner that will warrant only gradual increases in the federal funds rate; the federal funds rate is likely to remain, for some time, below levels that are expected to prevail in the longer run.
However, the actual path of the federal funds rate will depend on the economic outlook as informed by incoming data.
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.
Source: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System — the statement on federalreserve.gov · September 21, 2016
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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.
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