During the March 20 meeting held by members of the Federal Open Market Committee, there was an undisputed public call for patience; however, according to a more comprehensive report published Wednesday, opposing opinions were observed.
Based on the minutes, some members suggested that their opinions concerning the proper target range for the federal money rate might tend toward any of the two directions according to the received data and other developments.
Concern regarding the U.S. housing market
The minutes also revealed that continued softness was an apparent issue within the housing sector.
A separate report released by NAR 48 hours after the Fed meeting showed that the market rebounded after rates started to drop during the early days of 2019.
The Realtors Association reported that existing home sales in February also witnessed the highest month-over-month growth rate since December 2015.
Some members fear for housing affordability.
The minutes declared that real residential funding seems to be softening more in the first three months, which tends to reveal, in part, a reduction in housing affordability.
Key members suggested that later in 2019, an increase in the benchmark rate might be appropriate, provided the current economic expansion is sustained beyond its longer-run trend rate.
A few FOMC members equally shared the belief that U.S. GDP would likely bounce back significantly in the second quarter after the lesser-than-expected GDP growth in the first three months of this year.
The minutes showed that most participants expected economic conditions, as well as the outlook risks, would lead to maintaining the target range for the remainder of the year.
Some members opined that if the economy should change beyond its longer-run trend rate, a call to raise the target range of the federal funds rate near the end of the year may be prudent.
After the Fed’s March meeting, they confirmed that their holding of Treasury bonds would witness a gradual monthly reduction from close to $30 billion to about $15 billion starting from May.
These actions confirm the plan to finalize their current balance sheet runoff by September, provided economic conditions continue as planned.