Goldman Sachs Comments On FOMC Decision: 'Touch More Dovish Than Expected'

Following the FOMC announcement on Wednesday, Goldman Sachs Jan Hatzius put out a note on how he views the statement.

Hatzius views the FOMC decision to include the phrase "continues to monitor inflation developments closely," which wasn't used in the October statement, as dovish.

Regarding forward guidance, the removal of "considerable time" and the inclusion of "can be patient to normalize the stance on monetary policy", Haztius notes this is very similar to statements published by the FOMC in 2004. He views the change as more reflective of a passage of time than any potential change in the FOMC's expected date to begin raising rates.

Since October, one new participant has joined the group voting for a hike in 2015, while only two now preferred 2016.