USD: Dec FOMC: Fed Hikes To Remain Gradual; Evans' Dissent A Dovish Surprise - Barclays

Barclays Capital Research discusses the reaction to today's FOMC decision.

At its December meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the target range for the federal funds rate by 25bp to 1.25-1.5%, a move that was in line with our expectation and widely anticipated by markets heading into the meeting. The committee made only modest changes to the FOMC statement, the most notable of which was an upgrade in the description of the pace of job gains to “solid” whereas the committee saw prior employment as restrained by the hurricanes.

...Also notable to us was the two dissents, one from Chicago Fed President Evans and the other from Minneapolis Fed President Kashkari. Kashkari’s dissent was in line with our expectation, given that he dissented against a rate increase in June. Evans was a surprise to us as he generally prefers to avoid dissents in favor of active discussion at the table during the meeting itself," Barclays argues.

Source: Barclays Research