Monetary Policy Report submitted to the Congress on February 11, 2004, pursuant to section 2B of the Federal Reserve Act
Section 1
MONETARY POLICY AND THE ECONOMIC OUTLOOK
The economic expansion in the United States gathered strength during 2003 while price inflation remained quite low. At the beginning of the year, uncertainties about the economic outlook and about the prospects of war in Iraq apparently weighed on spending decisions and extended the period of subpar economic performance that had begun more than two years earlier. However, with the support of stimulative monetary and fiscal policies, the nation's economy weathered that period of heightened uncertainty to post a marked acceleration in economic activity over the second half of 2003. Still, slack in resource utilization remained substantial, unit labor costs continued to decline as productivity surged, and core inflation moved lower. The performance of the economy last year further bolstered the case that the faster rate of increase in productivity, which began to emerge in the late 1990s, would persist. The combination of that favorable productivity trend and stimulative macroeconomic policies is likely to sustain robust economic expansion and low inflation in 2004.
At the time of our last Monetary Policy Report to the Congress, in July, near-term prospects for U.S. economic activity remained unclear. Although the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) believed that policy stimulus and rapid gains in productivity would eventually lead to a pickup in the pace of the expansion, the timing and extent of the improvement were uncertain. During the spring, the rally that occurred in equity markets when the war-related uncertainties lifted suggested that market participants viewed the economic outlook as generally positive. By then, the restraints imparted by the earlier sharp decline in equity prices, the retrenchment in capital spending, and lapses in corporate governance were receding. As the price of crude oil dropped back and consumer confidence rebounded last spring, household spending seemed to be rising once again at a moderate rate. Businesses, however, remained cautious; although the deterioration in the labor market showed signs of abating, private payroll employment was still declining, and capital spending continued to be weak. In addition, economic activity abroad gave few signs of bouncing back, even though long-term interest rates in major foreign economies had declined sharply. At its June meeting, the FOMC provided additional policy accommodation, given that, as yet, it had seen no clear evidence of an acceleration of U.S. economic activity and faced the possibility that inflation might fall further from an already low level.
During the next several months, evidence was accumulating that the economy was strengthening. The improvement was initially most apparent in financial markets, where prospects for stronger economic activity and corporate earnings gave a further lift to equity prices. Interest rates rose as well, but financial conditions appeared to remain, on net, stimulative to spending, and additional impetus from the midyear changes in federal taxes was in train. Over the remainder of the year, in the absence of new shocks to economic activity and with gathering confidence in the durability of the economic expansion, the stimulus from monetary and fiscal policies showed through more readily in an improvement in domestic demand. Consumer spending and residential construction, which had provided solid support for the expansion over the preceding two years, rose more rapidly, and business investment revived. Spurred by the global recovery in the high-tech sector and by a pickup in economic activity abroad, U.S. exports also posted solid increases in the second half of the year. Businesses began to add to their payrolls, but only at a modest pace that implied additional sizable gains in productivity.
The fundamental factors underlying the strengthening of economic activity during the second half of 2003 should continue to promote brisk expansion in 2004. Monetary policy remains accommodative. Financial conditions for businesses are quite favorable: Profits have been rising rapidly, and corporate borrowing costs are at low levels. In the household sector, last year's rise in the value of equities and real estate exceeded the further accumulation of debt by enough to raise the ratio of household net worth to disposable income after three consecutive years of decline. In addition, federal spending and tax policies are slated to remain stimulative during the current fiscal year, while the restraint from the state and local sector should diminish. Lastly, the lower foreign exchange value of the dollar and a sustained economic expansion among our trading partners are likely to boost the demand for U.S. production. Considerable uncertainty, of course, still attends the economic outlook despite these generally favorable fundamentals. In particular, questions remain as to how willing businesses will be to spend and hire and how durable will be the pickup in economic growth among our trading partners. At its meeting on January 27-28, 2004, the Committee perceived that upside and downside risks to the attainment of sustainable growth for the next few quarters are roughly equal.
Prospects for sustained high rates of increase in productivity are quite favorable. Businesses are likely to retain their focus on controlling costs and boosting efficiency by making organizational improvements and exploiting investments in new equipment. With the ongoing gains in productivity, the existing margins of slack in resource utilization should recede gradually, and any upward pressure on prices should remain well contained. The FOMC indicated at its January meeting that, with inflation low and resource use still slack, it can be patient in removing its policy accommodation.
Monetary Policy, Financial Markets, and the Economy over 2003 and Early 2004
During the opening months of 2003, the softness in economic conditions was exacerbated by the substantial uncertainty surrounding the onset of war in Iraq. Private nonfarm businesses began again to cut payrolls substantially, consumer spending slowed, and business investment was muted. Although the jump in energy prices pushed up overall inflation, slack in resource utilization and the rapid rise in labor productivity pushed core inflation down. In financial markets, the heightened sense of caution among investors generated safe-haven demands for Treasury and other fixed-income securities, and equity prices declined.
At its meeting on March 18, the FOMC maintained its 1-1/4 percent target for the federal funds rate to provide support for a stronger economic expansion that appeared likely to materialize. The Committee noted that the prevailing high degree of geopolitical uncertainty complicated any assessment of prospects for the economy, and members refrained from making a determination about the balance of risks with regard to its goals of maximum employment and stable prices. At the same time, the Committee agreed to step up its surveillance of the economy, which took the form of a series of conference calls in late March and early April to consult about developments. When military action in Iraq became a certainty, financial markets began to rally, with risk spreads on corporate debt securities narrowing and broad equity indexes registering notable gains. Economic news, however, remained mixed.
Indicators of the economy at the time of the May 6 FOMC meeting continued to suggest only tepid growth. Uncertainty in financial markets had declined, and rising consumer confidence and a wave of mortgage refinancing appeared to be supporting consumer spending. However, persistent excess capacity evident in labor and product markets pointed to possible further disinflation. The lifting of some of the uncertainty clouding the economic outlook allowed the Committee to make the determination that the risks to economic growth were balanced but that the probability of an unwelcome substantial fall in inflation exceeded that of a pickup in inflation. The FOMC judged that, taken together, the balance of risks was weighted toward weakness. The Committee left the federal funds rate target at 1-1/4 percent, but the Committee's announcement prompted a rally in the Treasury market, and coupon yields fell substantially as market participants marked down their expectations for the path of the federal funds rate.
By the time of the June 24-25 FOMC meeting, risk spreads had narrowed further and equity prices had extended their rise, but the prospects for sustained economic expansion still seemed tentative. Although Committee members referred to signs of improvement in some sectors of the economy, they saw no concrete evidence of an appreciable overall strengthening in the economic expansion and viewed the excess capacity in the economy as likely to keep inflation in check. The Committee lowered the target for the federal funds rate 1/4 percentage point, to 1 percent, to add further support to the economic expansion and as a form of insurance against a further substantial drop in inflation, however unlikely. The members saw no serious obstacles to further conventional policy ease down to the zero lower bound on nominal interest rates should that prove to be necessary. The Committee also discussed alternative means of providing monetary stimulus should the target federal funds rate be reduced to a point at which they would have little or no latitude for additional easing through this traditional channel.
Longer-term interest rates backed up following the meeting, as investors had apparently placed substantial odds on a policy move larger than 25 basis points and may have been disappointed that the announcement failed to mention any potential "unconventional" monetary policy options. Ten-year Treasury yields rose sharply during the following weeks in reaction to interpretations of the Chairman's congressional testimony, the release of Committee members' economic projections, and positive incoming news about the economy and corporate profits. A substantial unwinding of hedging positions related to mortgage investments may well have amplified the upswing in market yields. Over the intermeeting period, labor markets continued to be soft, but industrial production, personal consumption expenditures, and business outlays all strengthened, and the housing market remained robust. By the time of the August 12 FOMC meeting, members generally perceived a firming in the economy, most encouragingly in business investment spending, and believed that, even after the rise in longer-term rates, financial conditions were still supportive of vigorous economic growth. Given the continued slack in resource use across the economy, however, members saw little risk of inducing higher inflation by leaving the federal funds rate at its accommodative level. On the basis of the economic outlook, and to reassure market participants that policy would not reverse course soon, Committee members decided to include in the announcement a reference to their judgment that under the anticipated circumstances, policy accommodation could be maintained for a "considerable period."
Through the September 16 and October 28 FOMC meetings, the brightening prospects for future growth put upward pressure on equity prices and longer-term interest rates. The Committee's retention of the phrase "considerable period" in the announcements following each of these meetings apparently provided an anchor for near-term interest rates. The Committee's discussion at these two meetings focused on the increased evidence of a broadly based acceleration in economic activity and on the continued weakness in labor markets. Rising industrial production, increased personal consumption and business investment spending, higher profits, receptive financial markets, and a lower foreign exchange value of the dollar all suggested that sustained and robust economic growth was in train. The Committee's decision to leave the stance of monetary policy unchanged over this period reflected, in part, a continuing confidence that gains in productivity would support economic growth and suppress inflationary pressures. In fact, the Committee generally viewed its goal of price stability as essentially having been achieved.
By the time of the December 9 FOMC meeting, the economic expansion appeared likely to continue at a rate sufficient to begin to reduce slack in labor and product markets. Equity markets continued to rally, and risk spreads, particularly on the debt of speculative-grade firms, narrowed further. The labor market was finally showing some signs of improvement, and spending by households remained strong even as the impetus from earlier mortgage refinancings and tax cuts began to wane. The acceleration in capital spending and evidence that some firms were beginning to accumulate inventories seemed to signal that business confidence was on the mend. However, twelve-month core consumer price inflation was noticeably lower than in the previous year. Even though the unemployment rate was expected to move down gradually, continued slack in labor and product markets over the near term was viewed as sufficient to keep any nascent inflation subdued. Uncertainty about the pace at which slack would be worked down, however, made longer-run prospects for inflationary pressures difficult to gauge. Given the better outlook for sustained economic growth, the possibility of pernicious deflation associated with a pronounced softening in real activity was seen as even more remote than it had been earlier in the year. The Committee indicated that keeping policy accommodative for a considerable period was contingent on its expectation that inflation would remain low and that resource use would remain slack.
At its meeting on January 27-28, 2004, the Committee viewed a self-sustaining economic expansion as even more likely. Members drew particular reassurance from reports of plans for stronger capital spending and the widespread distribution of increased activity across regions. Accommodative financial market conditions, including higher equity prices, narrower risk spreads on bonds, and eased standards on business loans, also seemed supportive of economic expansion. However, some risks remained in light of continued lackluster hiring evidenced by the surprisingly weak December payroll employment report. With the likelihood for rapid productivity growth seemingly more assured, Committee members generally agreed that inflation pressures showed no sign of increasing and that a bit more disinflation was possible. Under these circumstances, the Committee concluded that current conditions allowed monetary policy to remain patient. As to the degree of policy accommodation, the Committee left its target for the federal funds rate unchanged. The Committee's characterization that policy could be patient instead of its use of the phrase "considerable period" in its announcement prompted a rise in Treasury yields across the yield curve and a fall in equity prices.
Economic Projections for 2004
Federal Reserve policymakers expect that the economic expansion will continue at a brisk pace in 2004. The central tendency of the forecasts of the change in real gross domestic product made by the members of the Board of Governors and the Federal Reserve Bank presidents is 4-1/2 percent to 5 percent, measured from the final quarter of 2003 to the final quarter of 2004. The full range of these forecasts is somewhat wider--from 4 percent to 5-1/2 percent. The FOMC participants anticipate that the projected increase in real economic activity will be associated with a further gradual decline in the unemployment rate. They expect that the unemployment rate, which has averaged 5-3/4 percent in recent months, will be between 5-1/4 percent and 5-1/2 percent in the fourth quarter of the year. With rapid increases in productivity likely to be sustained and inflation expectations stable, Federal Reserve policymakers anticipate that inflation will remain quite low this year. The central tendency of their forecasts for the change in the chain-type price index for personal consumption expenditures (PCE) is 1 percent to 1-1/4 percent; this measure of inflation was 1.4 percent over the four quarters of 2003.
1. Change from average for
fourth quarter of previous year to average for fourth quarter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
