(Benzinga) - Allianz chief economic adviser and noted economist Mohamed El-Erian has said the Federal Reserve is trying to maintain a "delicate balance."
“The sentence from the just-released #FederalReserve minutes that, I believe, captures well the delicate balance that the world's most influential central bank is seeking to strike. Judging from bond market pricing, it's yet to convince investors and traders -- and that matters,” El-Erian tweeted.
What Happened: The Federal Reserve's meeting minutes released on Wednesday indicated a continued hawkish tone from the central bank, although markets mostly shrugged them off. One of the concerns of the central bank seemed to be communication as it worried about market participants' notions about the slowing pace of rate hikes.
“A number of participants emphasized that it would be important to clearly communicate that a slowing in the pace of rate increases was not an indication of any weakening of the Committee's resolve to achieve its price-stability goal or a judgment that inflation was already on a persistent downward path,” the summary stated.
Despite the central bank’s assertive language and clearly communicated resolve to get to the projected inflation target, major Wall Street indices closed in the green on Wednesday. The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust SPY+2.24%+ Free Alerts closed 0.77% higher while the Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Fund ETF BND+1.04%+ Free Alerts gained 0.57%.
'Misperception:' The Federal Reserve minutes also showed the central bank’s concerns surrounding the "misperception by the public" as participants worried about unwarranted easing in financial conditions.
“Participants noted that, because monetary policy worked importantly through financial markets, an unwarranted easing in financial conditions, especially if driven by a misperception by the public of the Committee's reaction function, would complicate the Committee's effort to restore price stability,” it said.
By Bhavik Nair, Benzinga Staff Writer
January 4, 2023
