Fed Officials Divided Over Policy in 2011, Minutes Show
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Federal Reserve policy makers last month differed over whether to begin removing record stimulus this year as they debated the path of monetary policy after the completion of their $600 billion bond-purchase program.
“A few participants indicated that economic conditions might warrant a move toward less-accommodative monetary policy this year; a few others noted that exceptional policy accommodation could be appropriate beyond 2011,” the Federal Open Market Committee said in minutes of its March 15 meeting, released today in Washington. “Almost all” Fed officials also saw no need to “taper” Treasury buying after June, jettisoning their prior strategy of reducing the pace of purchases while stretching out their duration.