Summary of monetary policy statement

Fed officials commented on its monetary policy statement that the risks to achieving employment and inflation goals “have moved toward better balance over the past year.” They acknowledged that despite inflation having been trending lower, “there has been a lack of further progress toward the Committee’s 2 percent inflation objective.”

Regarding the balance sheet reduction, Fed officials noted, “Beginning in June, the Committee will slow the pace of decline of its securities holdings by reducing the monthly redemption cap on Treasury securities from $60 billion to $25 billion. The Committee will maintain the monthly redemption cap on agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities at $35 billion and will reinvest any principal payments in excess of this cap into Treasury securities.”