The minutes of the March meeting of the policy board of the U.S. central bank have revealed that the continuation of the second round of stimulus could face opposition, according to Bloomberg. On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve published the minutes of the March meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee, which showed that a “few” of the central bank’s 17 governors and regional presidents were said to be considering the need to tighten monetary policy this year. The report showed that several FOMC members felt, “The risks to their forecasts of inflation had shifted somewhat to the upside.”
Nonetheless, other policymakers expressed the belief that “exceptional policy accommodation could be appropriate beyond 2011.” The decision to continue bond purchases was unanimous at the latest meeting, although some of the members said that higher inflation and growth expectations “could make it appropriate to reduce the pace or overall size” of the $600 billion stimulus program. Stephen Stanley of Pierpont Securities still expects a gradual rather than abrupt shift in policy, but said the report suggests a “shift to a more hawkish bent.”