The main hawkish surprise from the FOMC minutes released overnight was that, “a number of participants suggested that if the economy continued to make rapid progress toward the Committee’s goals, it might be appropriate at some point in upcoming meetings to begin discussing a plan for adjusting the pace of asset purchases.”
Also, “a couple of participants commented on the risks of inflation pressures building up to unwelcome levels before they become sufficiently evident to induce a policy reaction.” Some participants mentioned “upside risks around the inflation outlook that could arise if temporary factors influencing inflation turned out to be more persistent than expected.”
But overall, “after the transitory effects of these factors fade, participants generally expected measured inflation to ease. Looking further ahead, participants expected inflation to be at levels consistent with achieving the Committee’s objectives over time.”
