Weekly Market Commentary 04/08/2016

The Federal Reserve, never known for its swashbuckling ways, is once again embracing prudence as its guiding force in conducting policy. That, at least, is the main message taken from the minutes of the March 15-16 FOMC meeting, which is released three weeks after the confab ends. To be sure, the summary statement following the policy meeting left little doubt that the central bank would be moving more gradually towards raising interest rates than it indicated at the previous meeting in December. What’s more, Fed chair Yellen sounded even more dovish in her speech before the NY Economic Club last week. But the minutes, which fleshes out the thinking of Fed officials in more detail, provides further confirmation that the central bank will be inclined to err more on the side of ease than tightness over the near term.