Committee participants resumed their discussion from the January 2019 meeting on options for transitioning to the longer-run size of the balance sheet. The staff described options for ending the reduction in the Federal Reserve's securities holdings at the end of September 2019 and for potentially reducing the pace of redemptions of Treasury securities before that date. Reducing the pace of redemptions before ending them would be consistent with most previous changes in the Federal Reserve's balance sheet policy and would support a gradual transition to the long-run level of reserves. It could also reinforce the ... (full story)

Federal Reserve officials at their most recent meeting left room for the possibility of interest rate increases before the end of the year should economic conditions improve, according to minutes from the session released Wednesday. The central bank’s Federal Open Market Committee voted unanimously to not raise its benchmark rate at the March 19-20 gathering, and simultaneously indicated that it didn’t see a likelihood for any hikes through 2019. However, that came after a discussion in which members said they would be watching the data on an economy most of them expected to improve through the year. “Several ... (full story)