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Economy in Brief
Macro Expectations Hold to the High Ground
In January, the ZEW index paints a mixed and somewhat uneven view of its survey universe...
U.S. Housing Affordability Improves During November
The NAR reported that its Fixed Rate Mortgage Housing Affordability Index rose 0.7% (-0.7% y/y)...
U.S. Retail Sales Continue to Fall During December as COVID-19 Cases Increase
Total retail sales declined 0.7% (+2.9% y/y) during December...
Empire State Manufacturing Index Declines in January
The Empire State Manufacturing Index of General Business Conditions decreased to 3.5 in January...
U.S. Industrial Production Continues Recovery
Industrial production advanced 1.6% in December...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller January 29, 2020
The Federal Reserve kept the target range for the Federal funds rate at 1.50%-to-1.75% at today's FOMC meeting. The lack of action was expected in the Action Economics Forecast Survey. The decision was unanimous amongst FOMC voters.
Few changes were made to the statement which accompanied today's decision.
The Fed continued to characterize economic and consumer spending growth as "moderate," along with "solid" job gains. Growth in business fixed invesment and exports was characterized as "poor."
Overall inflation was expected to return to the Fed's two percent objective after having been below that in 2019.
The press release for today's meeting can be found here.
| Current | Last | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Federal Funds Rate Target | 1.50%-1.75% | 1.50%-1.75% | 2.16% | 1.83% | 1.00% | 0.40% |
