So, it wasn’t exactly a “close call” regarding raising the rates back in September, yet December seems to remain on the cards.
The team at Bank of America Merrill Lynch weigh in:
Here is their view, courtesy of eFXnews:
The September FOMC minutes suggest a Fed with a wavering hand over the liftoff policy lever, uncertain enough on the outlook to decide it was “prudent to wait for additional information”, notes Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
“In the end, the voting members agreed that “developments over the intermeeting period had not materially altered the Committee’s economic outlook.” However, the tone of discussion in the September minutes was much less certain than subsequent speeches over the past three weeks, with “several” voters saying they “were concerned about downside risks to the outlook” for both activity and inflation,” BofA adds.
“We maintain our expectation that the Committee is likely to hike in December on the back of continued improvement in the labor market, which “most” voters said would help to bolster their confidence in the outlook and support a hike. But these minutes do highlight a significant chance that the FOMC will wait into 2016 before hiking,” BofA argues.
For lots more FX trades from major banks, sign up to eFXplus
By signing up to eFXplus via the link above, you are directly supporting Forex Crunch.
Share
