The US Federal Reserve Open Market Committee will today publish the much anticipated minutes of its last meeting.
These minutes are a detailed account of the last Federal Reserve meeting. As such, this publication provides to market participants and financial media some color on the backdrop of the meeting. These minutes allow traders to gain insights on how individual FOMC members are positioned with respect to interest rates as we approach the next Federal Reserve meeting that takes place in March.
We expect that this publication will portray rather balanced tone were the bias for tightening is limited by the current uncertainty that has gripped the market.
The minutes of the December meeting presented a united picture in terms of how the committee members unanimously voted for a rate increase. However, some members of the FOMC did voice concerns that this decision to hike the Fed Funds rate may have been premature.
Market volatility is bound to increase just prior and during the publication. However, what will be of interest will be to see if the dissenting voices within the Federal Reserve are getting stronger and if other members of the committee who previously backed Decembers rate increase now appear to be regretting their decision.