Central Banks

Fed Study Suggests Policy Much Tighter Than Rates Alone Suggest

  • Calculation includes balance-sheet cut plan, forward guidance
  • FOMC has raised interest rates by 3.75 percentage points

The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC.

Photographer: Stefani Reynolds/Bloomberg
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A San Francisco Fed study found that US monetary policy is likely much tighter than interest rates alone suggest, according to an updated calculation of a proxy measure that takes forward guidance and the balance sheet into account.

Financial conditions implied that the Fed’s benchmark policy rate was above 5.25% in September, compared with the actual target range of 3% to 3.25%, according to the analysis published Monday in the San Francisco Fed’s weekly economic letter.