According to the minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) unscheduled March 15 monetary policy meeting, all participants viewed the near-term US economic outlook as having deteriorated sharply in recent weeks and as having become profoundly uncertain.
Market reaction
The market reaction to the FOMC statement was largely muted. As of writing, the US Dollar Index was up 0.15% on a daily basis at 100.12.
Additional takeaways
“Many participants had repeatedly downgraded their outlook of late in response to the rapidly evolving situation.”
“All saw US economic activity as likely to decline in the coming quarter and viewed downside risks to the economic outlook as having increased significantly.”
“Participants noted that the timing of the resumption of growth in the US economy depended on the containment measures put in place, as well as the success of those measures, and on the responses of other policies, including fiscal policy.”