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(CEP News) - The minutes of the Federal Reserve's monetary policy meeting on Dec. 15-16 show that there was some resistance among committee members to slash the key interest rate to a range of zero to 0.25%.
Those in favour of the target range thought the absence of an explicit federal funds rate target would "give banks added flexibility" in determining interest rates, the minutes reveal, while other members believed there could be confusion without a clear numerical target rate. "[O]ther members noted that not announcing a target might confuse market participants and lead investors to believe that the Federal Reserve was unable to control the federal funds rate when it could, in fact, still influence the effective federal funds rate through adjustments of the interest rate on excess reserves and the primary credit rate," the minutes read. When the meeting concluded, the decision to use the target band between zero and 0.25% was unanimous. "Most participants judged that the benefits in terms of support for the overall economy of federal funds rates close to, but slightly above, zero probably outweighed the adverse effects," the minutes said. Elsewhere in the report, members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) said the Fed's balance sheet, which has expanded beyond $2 trillion recently, would likely remain at "a high level" for some time. Some members on the board feared prolonged contraction in the economy, with the members agreeing that there were "substantial" risks to the economy in December. However, the Committee believed that recent policy actions leading up to the meeting "should help over time to improve credit conditions and promote a return to moderate economic growth." On prices, the FOMC saw appreciable reduction in inflation pressures, with some members worried about "uncomfortably low" inflation levels. Quantitative targets for an increasing reserve base could be effective in preventing deflationary dynamics, the minutes read, noting that targets could also be useful in communicating to the public the Fed's determination to avoid a deflationary outcome. By Patrick McGee,
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, edited by Nancy Girgis,
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