HERE COME THE FOMC MINUTES...
This Fed's April 30 statement came with no real surprises. The interest rates were unchanged at low levels (between 0% and 0.25%) and quantitative easing was tapered by another $10 billion.
The minutes should offer more granularity than the statement. Here's a brief preview from Credit Suisse's U.S. economics team:
About the only aspect of the April 30 FOMC policy statement that could be called a surprise was the relatively upbeat assessment of the economy that came on the heels of that morning's disappointing +0.1% Q1 GDP print (although it is worth noting that growth did improve within the quarter).
The minutes - to be released on Wednesday - may contain some points of greater interest, however, including any details of the April 29 Board Meeting that coincided with the beginning of the two-day FOMC meeting, at which the topic of discussion was "Medium-Term Monetary Policy Issues." We will be looking for discussion specifically relating to the exit strategy, and in particular plans for additional testing of the fixed-rate reverse repo facility.
Also, given Fed Chair Yellen's subsequent public comments about the risks associated with sluggishness in the housing market, any discussion in the minutes about the housing sector would be of interest.