FOMC statement of February 1, 2017
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 February 1, 2017. Compared with the previous scheduled statement of December 14, 2016: 7 sentences changed, 1 was added, 1 was removed, and 11 stayed the same. In words: 41 added, 77 removed. The vote on this statement: Unanimous. On the December 14, 2016 statement: Unanimous.
FOMC statement · February 1, 2017
Changed sentences against the previous scheduled statement (December 14, 2016)
11 unchanged · 7 changed · 1 added · 1 removed · words +41 / −77
- December 14, 2016
- Unanimous.
- February 1, 2017
- Unanimous.
Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in November December indicates that the labor market has continued to strengthen and that economic activity has been expanding continued to expand at a moderate pace since mid-year.
Job gains have been remained solid in recent months and the unemployment rate has declined stayed near its recent low.
Household spending has been rising continued to rise moderately but while business fixed investment has remained soft.
Measures of consumer and business sentiment have improved of late.
Inflation has increased since earlier this year in recent quarters 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 considerably but still are remain low; most survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations are little changed, on balance, in recent months.
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, and inflation will rise to 2 percent over the medium term.
Inflation is expected 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.
In view of realized and expected labor market conditions and inflation, the Committee decided to raise maintain the target range for the federal funds rate to at 1/2 to 3/4 percent.
Show the 11 unchanged sentences
Consistent with its statutory mandate, the Committee seeks to foster maximum employment and price stability.
Near-term risks to the economic outlook appear roughly balanced.
The Committee continues to closely monitor inflation indicators and global economic and financial developments.
The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting some further strengthening 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 · December 14, 2016
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.
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