The FOMC’s November meeting’s minutes showed that most of the participants saw that the U.S. economic outlook was rebounding and that inflation is moving towards the central bank’s target rate of 2 percent. The minutes noted that “participants generally agreed that the case for increasing the target range for the federal funds rate had continued to strengthen”.
The participants agreed that the U.S. labor market had continued to rebound, but there were certain talks regarding the rise in participation rate and what it might suggest for the level of slack in the labor market, noted TD Economics in a research report.
During its November meeting, the FOMC had kept rates unchanged; however, it had announced that the rise in rates were possibly not far away. With the meeting taking place before the Presidential elections, these minutes have a slight dated feel, said TD Economics. But they affirm the narrative that the U.S. Fed is positive in ongoing improvement and is prepared to hike its key lending rate during its next meeting in December.
An important element to listen for from t he U.S. Fed is how it would reach to the change in financial conditions since the election. The sell-off in bonds and rally in the U.S. dollar is because of risen expectations for fiscal stimulus, but the timing and scope of these actions continue to be highly uncertain, according to TD Economics. Meanwhile, interest- and exchange-rate sensitive sectors of the U.S. economy, such as trade and house are expected to be adversely impacted. This implies there are certain downside risks to the economic growth, added TD Economics.
At 06:00 GMT the FxWirePro's Hourly Strength Index of USD was neutral at 27.3979. For more details on FxWirePro's Currency Strength Index, visit http://www.fxwirepro.com/currencyindex
