Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee December 11–12, 2012
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_____________________________________________________________________________________________Page 1 Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee December 11–12, 2012 A meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee was James A. Clouse and Stephen A. Meyer, Deputy Direc- held in the offices of the Board of Governors of the tors, Division of Monetary Affairs, Board of Gov- Federal Reserve System in Washington, D.C., on Tues- ernors; Maryann F. Hunter, Deputy Director, Divi- day, December 11, 2012, at 11:00 a.m. and continued sion of Banking Supervision and Regulation, Board on Wednesday, December 12, 2012, at 8:30 a.m. of Governors PRESENT: Linda Robertson, Assistant to the Board, Office of Ben Bernanke, Chairman Board Members, Board of Governors William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman Elizabeth Duke Ellen E. Meade and Joyce K. Zickler, Senior Advisers, Jeffrey M. Lacker Division of Monetary Affairs, Board of Governors Dennis P. Lockhart Sandra Pianalto Eric M. Engen, Thomas Laubach, and David E. Le- Jerome H. Powell bow, Associate Directors, Division of Research Sarah Bloom Raskin and Statistics, Board of Governors; Michael T. Ki- Jeremy C. Stein ley,¹ Associate Director, Office of Financial Stabil- Daniel K. Tarullo ity Policy and Research, Board of Governors John C. Williams Janet L. Yellen Joshua Gallin, Deputy Associate Director, Division of Research and Statistics, Board of Governors; Jane James Bullard, Christine Cumming, Charles L. Evans, E. Ihrig, Deputy Associate Director, Division of Esther L. George, and Eric Rosengren, Alternate Monetary Affairs, Board of Governors; Beth Anne Members of the Federal Open Market Committee Wilson, Deputy Associate Director, Division of In- ternational Finance, Board of Governors Richard W. Fisher, Narayana Kocherlakota, and Charles I. Plosser, Presidents of the Federal Re- David H. Small, Project Manager, Division of Mone- serve Banks of Dallas, Minneapolis, and Philadel- tary Affairs, Board of Governors phia, respectively Jennifer E. Roush, Senior Economist, Division of William B. English, Secretary and Economist Monetary Affairs, Board of Governors Deborah J. Danker, Deputy Secretary Matthew M. Luecke, Assistant Secretary Marie Gooding, First Vice President, Federal Reserve Michelle A. Smith, Assistant Secretary Bank of Atlanta Scott G. Alvarez, General Counsel Steven B. Kamin, Economist Loretta J. Mester and Daniel G. Sullivan, Executive David W. Wilcox, Economist Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Phila- delphia and Chicago, respectively David Altig, Thomas A. Connors, Michael P. Leahy, William Nelson, David Reifschneider, and William Troy Davig, Mark E. Schweitzer, Geoffrey Tootell, Wascher, Associate Economists Christopher J. Waller, and Kei-Mu Yi, Senior Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City, Simon Potter, Manager, System Open Market Account Cleveland, Boston, St. Louis, and Minneapolis, re- spectively Nellie Liang, Director, Office of Financial Stability Pol- icy and Research, Board of Governors Mary Daly, Group Vice President, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Jon W. Faust, Special Advisor to the Board, Office of _______________________ Board Members, Board of Governors ¹ Attended Tuesday’s session only. _____________________________________________________________________________________________Page 2 Federal Open Market Committee Mr. Lacker dissented because of his opposition to ar- Evan F. Koenig, Lorie K. Logan, Julie Ann Remache, rangements that support Federal Reserve lending in Alexander L. Wolman, and Nathaniel Wuerffel, foreign currencies, which he viewed as amounting to Vice Presidents, Federal Reserve Banks of Dallas, fiscal policy. New York, New York, Richmond, and New York, Options for the Continuation of Asset Purchases respectively The staff reviewed several options for purchasing long- er-term securities after the planned completion at the Argia M. Sbordone, Assistant Vice President, Federal end of the month of the maturity extension program. Reserve Bank of New York The presentation focused on the potential effects for the U.S. economy, based in part on simulations of a staff macroeconomic model, and for the Federal Re- Developments in Financial Markets and the Fed- serve’s balance sheet and income of continuing to buy eral Reserve’s Balance Sheet MBS and longer-term Treasury securities over various The Manager of the System Open Market Account time frames. In their discussion of the staff presenta- (SOMA) reported on developments in domestic and tion, some participants asked about the possible conse- foreign financial markets during the period since the quences of the alternative purchase programs for the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) met on Oc- expected path of Federal Reserve remittances to the tober 23–24, 2012. He also reported on System open Treasury Department, and a few indicated the need for market operations over the intermeeting period, includ- additional consideration of the implications of such ing the ongoing reinvestment into agency-guaranteed purchases for the eventual normalization of the stance mortgage-backed securities (MBS) of principal pay- of monetary policy and the size and composition of the ments received on SOMA holdings of agency debt and Federal Reserve’s balance sheet. agency-guaranteed MBS; the operations related to the maturity extension program authorized at the June 19– Staff Review of the Economic Situation 20, 2012, FOMC meeting; and the purchases of MBS The information reviewed at the December 11–12 authorized at the September 12–13, 2012, FOMC meeting indicated that economic activity continued to meeting. By unanimous vote, the Committee ratified increase at a moderate pace in recent months. Em- the Open Market Desk’s domestic transactions over ployment expanded further, and the unemployment the intermeeting period. There were no intervention rate declined slightly, on balance, from September to operations in foreign currencies for the System’s ac- November but was still elevated. Consumer price infla- count over the intermeeting period. tion slowed as consumer energy costs fell, while measures of longer-run inflation expectations remained The Committee considered a proposal to extend its stable. liquidity swap arrangements with foreign central banks past February 1, 2013. All but one member approved Private nonfarm employment increased at a slightly the following resolution: faster rate in October and November than in the third quarter, but government employment decreased some- “The Federal Open Market Committee di- what. The unemployment rate declined to 7.7 percent rects the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in November, and the labor force participation rate in to extend the existing temporary dollar li- that month was at the same level as in the third quarter. quidity swap arrangements with the Bank of The relatively large share of workers employed part Canada, the Bank of England, the Bank of time for economic reasons trended up a bit, on net, Japan, the European Central Bank, and the while the share of long-duration unemployment in total Swiss National Bank through February 1, unemployment was essentially flat and remained elevat- 2014. In addition, the Federal Open Market ed. Indicators of firms’ job openings and hiring plans Committee directs the Federal Reserve Bank were little changed on balance. Initial claims for un- of New York to extend the existing tempo- employment insurance were boosted in early Novem- rary foreign currency liquidity swap arrange- ber by the effects of Hurricane Sandy but returned ments with the Bank of Canada, the Bank of within weeks to a level that was about the same as be- England, the Bank of Japan, the European fore the hurricane. Central Bank, and the Swiss National Bank through February 1, 2014.” Manufacturing production declined in October, as out- put was held down at the end of the month by the dis- _____________________________________________________________________________________________Minutes of the Meeting of December 11–12, 2012 Page 3 ruptions and damage caused by Hurricane Sandy; the Real federal government purchases increased markedly rate of manufacturing capacity utilization also declined. in the third quarter, led by a sharp rise in defense Automakers’ schedules indicated that the pace of mo- spending. However, data for nominal federal spending tor vehicle assemblies would rise somewhat in the com- in October pointed toward a decline in real defense ing months. Broader indicators of factory output, such expenditures in the fourth quarter. Real state and local as the diffusion indexes of new orders from the nation- government purchases were little changed in the third al and regional manufacturing surveys, continued to be quarter. State and local government payrolls decreased subdued at levels consistent with only small gains in on net over October and November, and nominal con- production in the near term. struction spending by these governments edged lower in October. Real personal consumption expenditures rose at a modest pace in the third quarter, but spending declined The U.S. international trade deficit widened in October, in October, likely in response in part to some disrup- and both exports and imports fell sharply from the tions caused by the hurricane. Probably reflecting previous month. The decrease in exports was wide- those disruptions, sales of light motor vehicles fell in spread across categories, while the reduction in imports October but then increased notably in November. importantly reflected lower purchases of consumer