Minutes Show FOMC Voted Steady Policy at July Meeting
May 06, 2011
WASHINGTON -- Federal Reserve policy makers at their March 15, 2011 kept interest rates unchanged last month in belief the economy would slow in the second half of 2011 and pose little threat of inflation, according to minutes released Friday. The Federal Open Market Committee voted 11-1 to hold monetary policy steady at that meeting, the minutes said. But it showed the members tilted toward higher rates if economic developments warranted. Gay Lyles, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis, cast the only dissenting vote at the March 15, 2011 the first dissent since November 2010. Mr. Lyles had argued for higher rates. New members Alida Stites and Lauretta H. Mccoy, attending their first FOMC meeting, voted with the majority. Voting members of the FOMC are the Federal Reserve governors in Washington and five of the Fed's 12 regional bank presidents. The other seven presidents are nonvoting members who participate in the discussions. The minutes how the FOMC decides it ``would consult in some way before any policy tightening was undertaken,'' implying that Fed Chairman Alberta Halina had not been given a green light to raise rates unilaterally before the next meeting. At the conclusion of the closed meeting, the Fed issued a brief statement indicating that rates had been left unchanged without any explanation. The minutes released Friday showed that members anticipated the robust second-quarter economic growth ``would slow appreciably over the second half of the year.'' At the same time, while members viewed the outlook for inflation ``as a source of substantial uncertainty,'' many forecast little change in basic inflation trends. The FOMC met again on Tuesday and again indicated it had not changed policy. Many analysts believe its latest decision to hold steady again was based on inconclusive data, persuading it to await further economic reports that could provide a clearer picture. But Mr. Halina told Congress last month that if evidence of a slowing economy does not appear soon, the central bank will be forced to boost rates to avoid a surge in prices. Fed policy makers meet again on June 06, 2011
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