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Economy in Brief
EMU PMI- Thin Gruel for Progress; Will the Coronavirus Trump the Outlook for 2020?
The flash composites show some improvement this month- but not much of it...
U.S. Leading Economic Indicators Index Eases
The Conference Board's Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators declined 0.3% during December...
U.S. Initial Unemployment Insurance Claims Rise; Total Claimant Level Falls
Initial claims for unemployment insurance increased 6,000 to 211,000 during the week ended January 18...
Japan's Sector Indexes Show Weakness and a Loss of Momentum
Japan's indexes of industry level activity show a gain...
U.S. Existing Home Sales & Prices Strengthen
The NAR reported that sales of existing homes during December increased 3.6% (10.8% y/y) to 5.540 million (SAAR)...
Special Topics
by Tom Moeller January 31, 2018
At today's meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, the federal funds rate target was held steady in a range of 1.25%-1.50%. The financial markets had expected today's action as indicated in the Action Economics Forecast Survey.
The Fed continued to characterize the stance of monetary policy as accommodative. Growth in the labor market and in consumer and business spending was viewed as "solid." Overall price inflation and prices excluding food & energy are expected to rise this year, then stabilize near the Fed's 2% objective.
The Fed's expectation for economic growth this year is 2.5%, then 2.1% in 2019. Expected PCE price inflation in 2018 is 1.9%, then 2.0% next year. The expected unemployment rate next year is 3.9%. As a result, the targeted level of the fed funds rate will increase to 2.1%, then 2.7% in 2019.
The press release for today's FOMC meeting can be found here.
Haver's SURVEYS database contains the economic projections from the FOMC.
| Current | Last | 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Funds Rate Target | 1.25%-1.50% | 1.25%-1.50% | 1.00% | 0.40% | 0.13% | 0.09% |
