RHB | US | Hike-On, Hike-Off

Economic Research	30 July 2015
US
Economic Highlights
Hike-On, Hike-Off   Unsurprisingly, the July 28-29 Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting ended without much fanfare, with no explicit indication on the proximity of liftoff in the post-meeting statement. Indeed, given the “data dependent” mantra, the recent communication flow--from Chair Yellen’s remarks and highlighted discussions in the FOMC minutes--suggests that “most” Fed policymakers believe that a “meeting-by-meeting” approach to determining the timing of liftoff is more appropriate. One of the surprises from the July meeting, however, is that the FOMC again voted unanimously despite indications that one of the Committee members--most likely Lacker--was keen to consider hiking rates in June (in any case, barring unforeseen developments, we expect Lacker to vote for a rate hike in Sep). Economist:  Thomas Lam  | +65 6533 0389
To access our recent reports please click on the links below: 02 July 2015: Nowcasting and Forecasting 18 June 2015: Yellen and the Dots 11 June 2015: Improving but Uneasy? 11 May 2015: Some Elusive Details on the Labor Market… 06 May 2015: Early Stab at 2q15 Growth… 30 April 2015: Dancing Gingerly… 06 April 2015:Hiccup, Pothole or Quicksand?