The Federal Reserve had its September Board meeting yesterday (Australian time). Apart from the time difference, the most frustrating thing is the Fed appears to host the press conference video themselves, and there is no button to adjust playback speed.
The press conference and statement offered some useful clarifications on the big announcements made last month at Jackson Hole (see forthcoming piece – hopefully this week!)
There were a lot of questions about how the Fed’s new average inflation targeting approach would work, how far above 2% would inflation be allowed to go and for how long?
With inflation running persistently below this longer-run goal, the Committee will aim to achieve inflation moderately above 2 percent for some time so that inflation averages 2 percent over time and longer-term inflation expectations remain well anchored at 2 percent
So what will policy be like in the meantime?
The Committee decided to keep the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and expects it will be appropriate to maintain this target range until labor market conditions have reached levels consistent with the Committee’s assessments of maximum employment and inflation has risen to 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time
Low for loooooooong baby! Remember inflation has barely touched 2% over the last decade. The projections of Board members show no one thinks inflation will reach 2% before 2022/3. The median projection for unemployment is 4% in 2023, but the range goes all the way up to 7.5%. The Fed has already issued a mea culpa for raising rates in 2018 when unemployment dropped below 4%, so it is unlikely they will do so again. All this adds up to low rates for the next few years, barring something extraordinary.
Preemptive tightening in the face of unemployment is officially dead and buried.
We view maximum employment as a broad-based and inclusive goal and do not see a high level of employment as posing a policy concern unless accompanied by signs of unwanted increases in inflation or the emergence of other risks that could impede the attainment of our goals
Powell acknowledged the new normal; low interest rates are now part of the furniture.
In turn, well-anchored inflation expectations enhance our ability to meet both our employment and inflation objectives, particularly in the new normal in which interest rates are closer to their effective lower bound even in good times
Aside from all the technical announcements, two short sections caught my eye:
As I have emphasized before, these are lending powers, not spending powers. The Fed cannot grant money to particular beneficiaries. We can only create programs or facilities with broad-based eligibility to make loans to solvent entities with the expectation that the loans will be repaid
Elected officials have the power to tax and spend and to make decisions about where we, as a society, should direct our collective resources. (is monetary policy not?)
Firstly, it is simply not true that the Fed cannot grant money to particular beneficiaries. Legality aside, it is certainly possible operationally. It would be politically momentous, sure, but lets not kid ourselves about what Central Banks can and cannot do.
Secondly, the second paragraph implies that monetary policy, unlike fiscal policy, is not one of society’s collective resources. Again, I disagree. The money supply is a collective resource, and even if its creation and control currently sits outside day-to-day political control, that is a choice. It is neither inevitable nor eternal and we do ourselves a disservice when we blithely reify the specific institutional arrangements we happen to have today.
Something Interesting. Most Days. 