FOMC Preview
February 1, 2017
Today’s Federal Open Market Committee statement on monetary policy, due at 14:00 GMT, is not expected to raise interest rates. For the first time, that was done at the prior meeting on December 13-14. At least 2, and possibly 3 or 4, increases will occur in 2017 barring an unforeseen large shock. Today’s statement will be gleaned for clues regarding future policy. The federal funds rate is now in a range of 0.50% to 0.75%, and updated FOMC projections released after the December meeting bumped up the expected late-2017 by 30 basis points to 1.4%. The statement back then spoke of a strengthening labor market, moderately expanding GDP growth, a considerable rise in market-based measures of inflation compensation, and steady survey-based measures of longer-term inflation expectations. The committee expects inflation a la the personal consumption price deflator to reach 1.9% this year and thereafter plateau at the targeted 2.0%. The currently accommodative monetary policy stance will become gradually less so as targeted inflation is restored and the labor market strengthens further.
Market measures shown in the table below are not significantly different from levels at the release time of the December FOMC statement. Donald Trump had been elected by that meeting, and investors were most focused on the likelihood of a growth-supporting coming stimulus from fiscal policy and deregulation. Since then, uncertainty as to timing and size has crept into fiscal expectations, and the possible drag from protectionist trade policy, a rise in the dollar, barriers to immigration, and social unrest have tempered optimism. It is very early to gauge these factors, so it would not be surprising if today’s statement is vaguer than hoped about future policy guidance.
There will be no press conference or updated handout of macroeconomic projections at this meeting.
Copyright 2017, Larry Greenberg. All rights reserved. No secondary distribution without express permission.
EUR/$ | $/JPY | 10Y, % | DJIA | Oil, $ | |
06/30/04 | 1.2173 | 109.44 | 4.63 | 10396 | 37.95 |
06/30/05 | 1.2090 | 110.89 | 3.96 | 10370 | 57.00 |
06/29/06 | 1.2527 | 116.07 | 5.20 | 11077 | 73.41 |
06/28/07 | 1.3452 | 123.17 | 5.10 | 13456 | 69.82 |
08/07/07 | 1.3749 | 118.55 | 4.73 | 13510 | 72.27 |
09/18/07 | 1.3888 | 115.75 | 4.51 | 13475 | 81.42 |
10/31/07 | 1.4458 | 115.28 | 4.42 | 13873 | 93.59 |
12/11/07 | 1.4682 | 111.49 | 4.11 | 13645 | 89.78 |
01/30/08 | 1.4792 | 107.31 | 3.70 | 12454 | 91.70 |
03/18/08 | 1.5786 | 98.73 | 3.41 | 12257 | 107.53 |
04/30/08 | 1.5562 | 104.58 | 3.83 | 12953 | 111.54 |
06/25/08 | 1.5568 | 108.37 | 4.18 | 11837 | 133.62 |
08/05/08 | 1.5445 | 108.42 | 3.97 | 11484 | 119.82 |
09/16/08 | 1.4144 | 105.16 | 3.36 | 10936 | 91.18 |
10/08/08 | 1.3625 | 99.87 | 3.50 | 9447 | 87.02 |
10/29/08 | 1.2933 | 97.15 | 3.81 | 9145 | 67.38 |
12/16/08 | 1.3790 | 90.14 | 2.52 | 8687 | 44.14 |
01/28/09 | 1.3253 | 90.01 | 2.61 | 8356 | 42.92 |
03/18/09 | 1.3115 | 98.13 | 2.94 | 7340 | 47.73 |
04/29/09 | 1.3331 | 97.06 | 3.02 | 8194 | 51.05 |
06/24/09 | 1.3984 | 95.43 | 3.59 | 8373 | 68.76 |
08/12/09 | 1.4221 | 96.17 | 3.71 | 9366 | 70.64 |
09/23/09 | 1.4779 | 91.50 | 3.50 | 9859 | 69.13 |
11/04/09 | 1.4884 | 90.75 | 3.51 | 9896 | 80.66 |
12/16/09 | 1.4542 | 89.78 | 3.56 | 10478 | 73.14 |
01/27/10 | 1.4045 | 89.49 | 3.61 | 10148 | 73.31 |
03/16/10 | 1.3756 | 90.64 | 3.67 | 10645 | 81.45 |
04/28/10 | 1.3157 | 94.10 | 3.75 | 11043 | 82.57 |
06/23/10 | 1.2284 | 90.12 | 3.13 | 10307 | 76.50 |
08/10/10 | 1.3107 | 85.85 | 2.81 | 10605 | 79.94 |
09/21/10 | 1.3132 | 85.21 | 2.66 | 10747 | 73.05 |
11/03/10 | 1.4059 | 81.35 | 2.53 | 11174 | 84.59 |
12/14/10 | 1.3423 | 83.37 | 3.38 | 11497 | 88.47 |
01/26/11 | 1.3658 | 82.55 | 3.41 | 12001 | 87.36 |
03/15/11 | 1.3969 | 81.04 | 3.29 | 11815 | 98.09 |
04/27/11 | 1.4665 | 82.63 | 3.36 | 12612 | 112.48 |
06/22/11 | 1.4392 | 80.12 | 2.97 | 12175 | 94.87 |
08/09/11 | 1.4234 | 77.09 | 2.36 | 10993 | 81.76 |
09/21/11 | 1.3778 | 76.34 | 1.93 | 11377 | 86.74 |
11/02/11 | 1.3724 | 78.11 | 2.03 | 11805 | 92.77 |
12/13/11 | 1.3067 | 77.92 | 1.98 | 12130 | 100.20 |
01/25/12 | 1.3027 | 77.96 | 1.97 | 12670 | 98.85 |
03/13/12 | 1.3096 | 82.76 | 2.08 | 13044 | 106.34 |
04/25/12 | 1.3226 | 81.37 | 1.97 | 13096 | 104.13 |
06/20/12 | 1.2693 | 79.28 | 1.66 | 12837 | 83.63 |
08/01/12 | 1.2300 | 78.10 | 1.49 | 13028 | 88.98 |
09/13/12 | 1.2895 | 77.43 | 1.72 | 13342 | 97.60 |
10/24/12 | 1.2948 | 79.75 | 1.77 | 13115 | 85.72 |
12/12/12 | 1.3082 | 83.24 | 1.70 | 13325 | 87.13 |
01/30/13 | 1.3584 | 91.16 | 2.02 | 13949 | 97.63 |
03/20/13 | 1.2948 | 95.65 | 1.94 | 14497 | 92.82 |
05/01/13 | 1.3195 | 97.48 | 1.62 | 14740 | 90.47 |
06/19/13 | 1.3364 | 95.76 | 2.23 | 15304 | 98.38 |
07/31/13 | 1.3301 | 97.92 | 2.67 | 15565 | 105.63 |
09/18/13 | 1.3363 | 98.28 | 2.76 | 15606 | 107.01 |
10/30/13 | 1.3764 | 98.18 | 2.48 | 15660 | 97.42 |
12/18/13 | 1.3696 | 103.81 | 2.89 | 16198 | 98.06 |
01/29/14 | 1.3651 | 102.13 | 2.73 | 15719 | 97.23 |
03/19/14 | 1.3918 | 101.75 | 2.71 | 16335 | 99.96 |
04/30/14 | 1.3868 | 102.11 | 2.66 | 16553 | 99.52 |
06/18/14 | 1.3584 | 101.93 | 2.61 | 16892 | 106.12 |
07/30/14 | 1.3372 | 102.84 | 2.51 | 16878 | 101.45 |
08/17/14 | 1.2961 | 107.60 | 2.57 | 17151 | 94.05 |
10/29/14 | 1.2677 | 108.40 | 2.33 | 16956 | 82.51 |
12/17/14 | 1.2409 | 117.58 | 2.11 | 17201 | 57.85 |
01/28/15 | 1.1337 | 117.77 | 1.78 | 17457 | 44.75 |
03/18/15 | 1.0637 | 120.98 | 2.05 | 17733 | 42.49 |
04/29/15 | 1.1164 | 118.67 | 2.05 | 18039 | 59.16 |
06/17/15 | 1.1255 | 124.22 | 2.39 | 17862 | 59.12 |
07/29/15 | 1.1073 | 123.61 | 2.29 | 17720 | 49.17 |
09/17/15
10/28/15 |
1.1334
1.1081 |
120.86
120.50 |
2.26
2.07 |
16778
17687 |
47.01
45.83 |
12/16/15
01/27/16 03/16/16 04/27/16 06/14/16 07/27/16 09/21/16 11/02/16 12/14/16 02/01/17 |
1.0956
1.0874 1.1089 1.1339 1.1205 1.0998 1.1160 1.1099 1.0641 1.0751
|
121.72
118.48 113.70 111.37 106.15 105.65 100.84 103.33 115.37 113.50
|
2.29
2.02 1.99 1.89 1.62 1.53 1.70 1.78 2.45 2.49
|
17583
16002 17217 18013 17675 18461 18151 17989 19915 19869 |
35.95
30.85 37.79 44.89 48.29 41.91 43.44 45.18 51.83 53.56 |