17 Dec 2014
Yellen taking the driving seat - BTMU
FXStreet (Guatemala) - Derek Halpenny, European Head of Currency Strategy at the Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ noted that, for today, the key issue for the markets outside of Russia will be the wording in the FOMC statement and the comments from Chair Yellen in the press conference.
Key Quotes:
“We expect the “considerable time” phrase to be removed from the statement this evening and may well be replaced by something like “patient” to emphasise the scope available for the FOMC to wait before raising the federal funds rate."
"That scenario seems widely expected at this stage but may still prompt some initial market volatility. For Chair Yellen we expect her to emphasise the “data dependent” nature of monetary policy decisions ahead."
"She is likely to play down whatever the wording signal is perceived to be in the Q&A and simply focus on the importance of how the economy progresses over the coming months. On the positive front, Chair Yellen will once again have to acknowledge the fact that the labour market has strengthened more than expected – indeed, this may well be where we see a notable change in rhetoric from the Fed."
Key Quotes:
“We expect the “considerable time” phrase to be removed from the statement this evening and may well be replaced by something like “patient” to emphasise the scope available for the FOMC to wait before raising the federal funds rate."
"That scenario seems widely expected at this stage but may still prompt some initial market volatility. For Chair Yellen we expect her to emphasise the “data dependent” nature of monetary policy decisions ahead."
"She is likely to play down whatever the wording signal is perceived to be in the Q&A and simply focus on the importance of how the economy progresses over the coming months. On the positive front, Chair Yellen will once again have to acknowledge the fact that the labour market has strengthened more than expected – indeed, this may well be where we see a notable change in rhetoric from the Fed."