Bernanke Plays It Safe
Today’s FOMC decision is kind of a dud. They played it pretty much as safe as they could: they cut 25, as everyone was expecting, and they made only very, very slight adjustment to the accompanying statement (FOMC April 30 Press Release).
In fact, the only significant change to the statement appears to be the removal of the sentence “However, downside risks to growth remain” from the policy paragraph. This suggests a slight shift in concern away from economic growth and towards inflation.
Many of the sentences on growth and inflation are identical to the March 18 statement. There is no suggestion of a pause on the horizon that many were looking for.
This doesn’t really provide any fuel for a continuation of the dollar rally/commodity selloff or for more upside in stocks. Markets appear to be essentially unchanged from before the decision.