View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

Prefatory Note

The attached document represents the most complete and accurate version
available based on original copies culled from the files of the FOMC Secretariat at the
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. This electronic document was
created through a comprehensive digitization process which included identifying the bestpreserved paper copies, scanning those copies, 1 and then making the scanned versions
text-searchable. 2 Though a stringent quality assurance process was employed, some
imperfections may remain.
Please note that this document may contain occasional gaps in the text. These
gaps are the result of a redaction process that removed information obtained on a
confidential basis. All redacted passages are exempt from disclosure under applicable
provisions of the Freedom of Information Act.

1

In some cases, original copies needed to be photocopied before being scanned into electronic format. All
scanned images were deskewed (to remove the effects of printer- and scanner-introduced tilting) and lightly
cleaned (to remove dark spots caused by staple holes, hole punches, and other blemishes caused after initial
printing).
2
A two-step process was used. An advanced optimal character recognition computer program (OCR) first
created electronic text from the document image. Where the OCR results were inconclusive, staff checked
and corrected the text as necessary. Please note that the numbers and text in charts and tables were not
reliably recognized by the OCR process and were not checked or corrected by staff.

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL (FR)

CLASS II FOMC

MONETARY POLICY ALTERNATIVES

PREPARED FOR THE FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE
BY THE STAFF OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Strictly Confidential (F.R.)

October 1, 1999

Class I -- FOMC

MONETARY POLICY ALTERNATIVES
Recent Developments
(1)

The 1/4 percentage point firming in the stance of policy at the August

meeting, along with the retention of a symmetric directive, was widely anticipated in
financial markets and had little impact on near-term expectations.' The reference in the
announcement to markedly diminished inflation risks, however, led market participants to
revise down slightly their anticipations of additional policy actions next year. In the weeks
that followed, the effects on market participants' policy expectations of surprisingly strong
indicators of spending at home and abroad and of rising commodity prices were only partly
offset by favorable readings on broad price indexes and declines in equity prices.2 On net
over the intermeeting period, money market futures rates through next year showed mixed
changes. Judging by the configuration of these rates, market participants appear to be
placing relatively low odds on a firming of monetary policy over the balance of 1999 and
seem to have at least a 1/2 percentage point tightening built in next year (chart). Rates on
Treasury notes and bonds rose 5 to 20 basis points over the intermeeting period.

1 The federal funds rate averaged close to the intended 5-1/4 percent level over the
intermeeting period.
Gold prices rose 21 percent over the intermeeting period, mostly resulting from the
announcement by the ECB and European national central banks that their reserve sales and
leasing operations would be capped for the next five years. While Treasury prices did seem
to respond to sharp swings on gold prices on certain days, market participants, in the main,
apparently looked through these gyrations as relative price changes that did not materially
reflect inflation expectations. The nearly $3 rise in oil prices since the August meeting,
however, seemed to be one factor contributing to concerns about inflation tendencies.
2

Chart 1
Selected Short-Term Interest Rates

Selected Long-Term Interest Rates

Percent

Daily

Aug. 24
FOMC

Three-month Treasury Bill
......... Three-month AA
Commercial Paper

-

Weekly Friday
-----..
. BBB Corporate
Thirty-year Treasury
---Thirty-year
Fixed Mortgage
I

I

I

I

I

I

I

Aug Oct
1998

I

I

I

Dec

I

Feb

I

I

Apr

I

I

Jun
1999

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

I

S----

P'''y
I

I

I

I

'.

Aug

Jul

C

Sep Nov
1998

Jan

Mar

May Jul
1999

Source. Merrill Lynch

Federal Funds Futures

I

Aug. 24
FC
)MCI
,
A,

- .:^ ^.i^-^ ^

-.r.-1 5.5

Jun

F
'ercent

Eurodollar Futures

Percent

8/23/1999

I

Sep

Percent

8/23/1999
10/01/1999

10/01/1999

**

10/1999

12/1999

2/2000

12/1999

6/2000

Contract Months

12/2000

Contract Months

Bond Yield Spreads*

Selected Stock Indexes

lndex(7/1/98)= 100
Basis points
160 800
Aug. 24

Basis points
Aug. 24

750
140 700
700
120

FOMC

650
600

100 550
500
80

450
400

Jun

Aug

Oct
1998

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun
1999

Aug

Oct

Jun

Aug

Oct
1998

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun
1999

Aug

"High yield spread is relative to the seven-year Treasury yield.
BBB corporate spread is relative to the ten-year Treasury yield.

Oct

-2(2)

Although most recent information on corporate profits has been positive,

investors appear to have become more cautious in assessing the outlook for business
finances. Over the intermeeting period, yield spreads on investment-grade corporate bonds
on average remained at their elevated late-August levels, even though recent issuance was
less than anticipated, and spreads on higher-yield debt widened significantly further. At
banks, spreads on business loans have remained at the higher levels reached in the spring, or
by some measures even widened further. In addition, most broad measures of equity prices
fell substantially over the intermeeting period. Concerns that shares might be overvalued
seemed to be heightened by doubts about whether the willingness of global investors to
accumulate dollar assets, including U.S. equities, would keep pace with the mounting current
account deficit, especially in light of the improving economic prospects abroad.
(3)

However, some yield spreads that had widened in July and August have

narrowed over the period, retracing a portion of their runup since early June (chart). Swap
spreads and spreads on a number of other instruments, including asset-backed securities and
agencies, moved down when an anticipated heavy volume of debt issuance did not
materialize and when investors and dealers apparently became more willing to take
positions, increasing market liquidity. Reportedly, borrowers still plan to minimize security
issuance around year-end, but are now less bent on wrapping up financing many weeks or
months in advance. The more relaxed approach may owe to diminished uncertainty about
future interest rate movements in the wake of both the August 24 policy announcement and
the Federal Reserve Bank of New York's announcement on September 8 that the FOMC

Chart 2
Ten-year Swap Spread and Eurodollar Implied Volatility
Percent

Basis points
120
Aug. 24
FOMC
110

S-

Daily
...-..... Volatility (left scale)
Swap Spread (right scale)

Spread of Six-month Eurodollar Deposit Rate
Over Six-month Treasury Yield
Basis points

100

90

S80
'

70

'-

60
I
Jun

Aug

I

I

Oct
1998

I

I

Dec

I

I

Feb

I

I

Apr

I

I

Jun
1999

I

I

Aug

I
Oct

One-month LIBOR Futures Butterfly Spread
Basis points

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Maturities of Outstanding Commercial Paper,
As of September 29
Billions of Dollars
[Weekly
..........

Jun

Oct

Jul

Aug
Sep
1999
Note. December futures rate less average of November and January
futures rates (based on mid-month to mid-month deposit rates).

Nominal Trade-Weighted Dollar
Exchange Rates
Index (7/1/98 = 100)

Nov
1999

Dec

Jan

Date of Maturity

Feb
2000

Average Stripped Brady Bond Spread*

1999
1998

Mar

Basis points
1800

Daily

SBroad Index
.............
Major Currencies Index

1600
1400
1200
1000
800
600

Jun

Aug

Oct
1998

Dec

Feb

Apr

Jun
1999

Aug

Oct

Jun

Aug

Oct
Dec
Feb
Apr
Jun
Aug
Oct
1998
1999
"J.P. Morgan Emerging Market Bond Index, an average of stripped Brady
bond yield spreads over Treasuries for ten emerging market countries.

-3had approved several actions intended to promote the smooth functioning of money
markets around year-end.3 Butterfly interest-rate spreads on one-month bank deposits
spanning the year-end narrowed immediately following the Reserve Bank's announcement
but subsequently reversed those declines, and are now higher than they were at the time of
the August meeting. The step-up in rates on three-month Eurodollar deposits as their
maturities extended into the new year implies, if the year-end pressures are assumed to be
concentrated in just the three-day rollover weekend, that borrowers in this market are now
paying about an 18 percentage point premium over a 5-1/4 percent federal funds rate
around the century date change.
(4)

Since the August 24 FOMC meeting, the foreign exchange value of the dollar

has declined 1 percent on balance against a broad index of currencies, depreciating 2-3/4
percent against the major currencies, but appreciating 1 percent against those of other
important trading partners. Incoming data on spending and production in industrial
economies generally ran to the strong side of market expectations. The growing conviction
that economic recovery has gained a foothold in Japan put upward pressure on the yen,

3 The actions included a temporary expansion of collateral accepted by the Desk in
repurchase transactions, a permanent extension of the maximum maturity of repurchase
transactions entered into by the Desk to 90 from 60 days, and a temporary Standby
Financing Facility under which the Desk would auction options on repurchase transactions.
In addition to the Desk's announcement, year-end concerns likely have been allayed by
numerous statements by government and private officials conveying optimism about the
readiness of the financial and other key sectors of the economy.
Another System initiative to deal with potential Y2K problems, the Special Liquidity

Facility, which the Board approved and announced on July 20, came into effect on
October 1.

-4which Japanese authorities tried to stem with two rounds of intervention in September. The
actions, aggregating to $9.4 billion, seemed to have little lasting effect on the tide of a rising
value of the yen. Concerns about the longer-term consequences of a strong yen on the
economy eventually came to weigh on Japanese equity prices and intensified pressures on
the Bank of Japan to take unusual easing measures, such as not sterilizing foreign exchange
intervention or adopting a quantitative goal for reserve growth. To date, the Bank of Japan
has not changed operations, but long-term rates fell in Japan as market participants seemed
to push expectations of eventual policy tightening further into the future. Nonetheless, the
dollar's value fell 6 percent against the yen. In Europe, signs of stronger growth in spending
prompted talk of policy tightening by the European Central Bank and was associated with
increases in bond yields of around 40 basis points over the intermeeting period. On net, the
dollar depreciated 1-1/2 percent against the euro. Catching market participants unawares,
the Bank of England tightened policy, hiking its repurchase rate 1/4 percentage point, to 51/4 percent, citing, among other factors, concerns about the implications of rising property
prices; over the intermeeting period, longer-term U.K. interest rates rose about 60 basis
points, share prices lost 9 percent, and the pound appreciated 3 percent against the dollar.
There was no intervention by U.S. monetary authorities over the intermeeting period

(5)

M2 expanded at a 5-1/2 percent rate in August and appears to be growing at

about that same pace in September, faster in both months than anticipated at the time of the
August FOMC. The additional expansion likely reflects stronger-than-expected income

-5growth and, as suggested by smaller inflows into equity mutual funds, a less attractive equity
market. Currency growth remained around the rapid pace seen earlier in the year, perhaps
reflecting in part continuing robust gains in consumer spending but also possibly some
hoarding in anticipation of Y2K. 4 M3 in August grew at only a 5 percent rate despite a
surge in bank credit growth that month, but is estimated to have advanced at a 6-1/4
percent pace in September. Banks had shifted their funding toward nonmonetary liabilities
in August, but in September returned to strong large time deposit issuance.
(6)

The growth of nonfinancial debt continued to run at around a 6 percent rate

in recent months. In the corporate sector, debt growth remained robust, although down
from earlier in the year. Less attractive conditions in capital markets, especially for lowerrated issuers, encouraged borrowers to shift toward banks. The high level of interest rates
compared with earlier in the year has halted advance refunding by tax-exempt issuers and
cash-out residential mortgage refinancing by households. Households continued to borrow
heavily, however, to finance strong home purchases and sizable increases in consumer
durables. Federal debt appears to have contracted again in the third quarter; the Treasury is
only just beginning the added borrowing it will need to carry through on its announced
intentions to build its cash balance to an unusually high level at the end of the year for Y2K
contingencies.

4 Depository institutions appear to be taking precautionary steps to be able to meet
potential currency demands. Vault cash is estimated to have increased by nearly $4 billion
this September compared to an increase of less than $1 billion in September 1998.

MONEY, CREDIT, AND RESERVE AGGREGATES
(Seasonally adjusted annual percentage rates of growth)
1998:Q4
to

Jul.

Aug.

Sep.

Money and Credit Aggregates

-9.5
-5.6

M1
Adjusted for sweeps
M2
M3
Domestic nonfinancial debt
Federal
Nonfederal
Bank credit
Adjusted1

Reserve Measures
Nonborrowed reserves

-29.6

1.6

Total reserves
Adjusted for sweeps

-24.9
-4.0

2.6
10.2

Monetary base
Adjusted for sweeps

7.0
7.8

Memo: (millions of dollars)
Adjustment plus seasonal borrowing
Excess reserves

344
1076

316

1128

1099

NOTE: Monthly reserve measures, including excess reserves and borrowing, are calculated by prorating averages for two-week reserve maintenance periods that overlap
months. Reserve data incorporate adjustments for discontinuities associated with
changes in reserve requirements.
1. Adjusted to remove the effects of mark-to-market accounting rules (FIN 39 and
FASB 115).
2. For nonfinancial debt and its components, 1998:Q4 to August.

Sep. 2

-7Policy Alternatives
(6)

Stronger-than-expected incoming data on spending, together with a weaker

path for the exchange value of the dollar than projected in the August Greenbook, have
induced the staff to raise its projection of economic activity going forward. The
unemployment rate is expected to decline to 4 percent by next year, a little lower than in the
last Greenbook. In light of tighter labor markets and heightened inflation pressures, the
staff now assumes that the FOMC will raise the federal funds rate 1/2 percentage point to
5-3/4 percent by the end of next year, 1/4 percentage point higher than in the previous staff
forecast. Against this policy background, long-term interest rates are expected to hold
around their current levels before drifting higher beginning late next year, while stock prices
move sideways throughout. In the Greenbook baseline projection, these financial
conditions combine to damp the expansion of domestic final demand enough to slow
economic growth to a little below that of its potential in 2000 and 2001. Even with the
unemployment rate drifting up slightly by the end of 2001, the still taut labor market,
together with rising non-oil import prices, generates a noticeable pickup in core CPI
inflation, to 2-3/4 percent next year and 3 percent in 2001.
(7)

While the Committee is likely to view an inflation outcome like that in the

staff forecast as unacceptable, it still may choose to keep the stance of policy unchanged, as
in alternative B. The staff outlook for inflation may strike the Committee as plausible but
surrounded by an unusually large element of uncertainty, which may be reduced by the
accumulation of additional evidence with the passage of time. On the demand side of the

-8economy, the changes in financial conditions this year have been substantial and have not
yet had much time to work themselves through to spending. On the supply side, the risks
may be considered to be tilted toward lower inflation than in the staff forecast: Fourquarter increases in core inflation, productivity, and unit labor costs have remained
favorable to date, highlighting the possibility that a further strengthening of the secular
growth in labor productivity may continue to repress inflationary pressures for some time
longer. In addition, the Committee may judge that faster productivity growth actually has
represented a more significant influence damping inflation relative to various one-time
factors, such as falling oil or non-oil import prices, than the staff has estimated. If so, the
reversal of those factors that is now in train might put less upward pressure on broad price
movements than in the staff forecast. Moreover, recent declines in stock prices and rising
risk spreads on some corporate bonds seem to have reflected a heightened investor
edginess; in these circumstances, the Committee may be more inclined to keep policy on
hold so as not to add to market unease through an unexpected policy tightening.
(8)

An unchanged intended federal funds rate, as under alternative B, along with

retention of a symmetric directive, would foster the sense that the Committee probably will
not act over the remainder of this year, especially given Y2K-related uncertainties.5 With
market prices now incorporating some odds on a tightening in the fourth quarter, this

5 Under the Committee's current disclosure policy, the combination of no policy
action and the retention of a symmetric directive would not be accompanied by an explicit
announcement. Even so, the markets would immediately infer from the absence of an
announcement that the Committee had adopted a directive that called for no change in
policy and no tilt looking forward.

-9Committee decision could spark a modest rally in financial markets. The choice of
alternative B with a tilt toward tightening, which would be announced immediately, would
tend to increase the perceived chances of a near-term firming, causing interest rates to back
up slightly and markets to become more sensitive to incoming data and to statements by
policymakers. In any event, banks and other lenders are likely to remain cautious suppliers
of funds to private borrowers as the year-end approaches, especially short-term credit whose
repayment could be viewed as potentially impaired for a little while by disruptions in
markets or the particular problems of individual counterparties. Year-end premiums in
money markets typically jump early in the fourth quarter, but in some years they have
declined subsequently as borrowers satisfied their needs. Spread movements, of course, are
subject to greater uncertainty with the century date change. This year borrowers seem to be
securing financing somewhat earlier than the norm, which may help to relieve some
pressures, though not by enough to prevent spreads from remaining quite elevated.
(9)

The Committee instead could favor a 1/4 percentage point firming in the

intended federal funds rate to 5-1/2 percent, as in alternative C. A rationale for this policy
tightening would be that the inflation uptrend embodied in the staff forecast is both likely
and unacceptable and warrants a faster and more aggressive policy response than is assumed
in that forecast. Indeed, the persistent strength of domestic final demand in the face of
elevated long-term rates and flat stock prices since the spring, the currently low inventorysales ratios, and the strengthening of activity abroad might be seen as pointing to risks that
are skewed toward an unemployment rate appreciably below 4 percent in the near future

-10and a greater intensification of inflation pressures. Although the markets are not fully
prepared for such an action and an outsized price reaction cannot be ruled out, the
Committee might be willing to accept even a sharp reduction in bond and stock prices as an
aspect of the process of containing inflation. The Committee might see action at this
meeting as especially desirable if it views potential financial disruptions as increasingly
militating against tightening policy between now and early next year and if it also sees that
interval as a period of time when firmer policy is going to be needed to prevent inflation
pressures from cumulating.
(10)

The 1/4 percentage point hike in the target federal funds rate at this FOMC

meeting would be enough of a surprise to financial markets to induce an appreciable
reaction. The ratcheting up of short-term interest rates would approach the magnitude of
the policy move. An immediate selloff in bond and stock markets can be anticipated as
market participants revise up their expected federal funds rates next year and beyond,
reflecting a strengthening of their assessments of the Federal Reserve's anti-inflation resolve,
as well as of impending inflation pressures in light of the Federal Reserve's evident concern.
The resultant increases in interest rates could strengthen the exchange value of the dollar,
although any worsening of the markets' outlook for U.S. inflation and declines in our stock
prices would mute that effect. The largely unexpected policy tightening might widen credit
and liquidity spreads in financial markets. The extent of all these market reactions would of
course depend on the Committee's choice of the direction of the tilt and of the content of
the immediate announcement of the change of policy stance.

-11(11)

The expansion of the debt of domestic nonfinancial sectors through the end

of this year is expected to run at around a 5 percent rate, somewhat below the growth of
nominal spending. Nonetheless, for the year, growth of this aggregate would be 6-1/4
percent, in the upper half of its 3 to 7 percent annual range. Among nonfederal sectors,
only business borrowing is likely to be much affected in the months around year-end by
Y2K-related distortions. In reaction to somewhat illiquid market conditions and efforts to
complete financing plans early, issuance of corporate bonds and commercial paper and the
overall pace of business borrowing should slow over the fourth quarter. Early next year, the
rebound in business borrowing should be held down by a projected runoffin precautionary
inventories. Household borrowing likely will remain robust over the next two quarters
owing to still-strong housing activity and solid advances in spending on consumer durable
goods. However, debt repayment by the federal government will accelerate in the first
quarter as the enlarged cash balance drops back, limiting the overall expansion of the debt
of nonfinancial sectors to only around 4-1/2 percent over the first three months of the year.
(12)

The staff anticipates that both broad monetary aggregates will grow 6-1/2

percent this year, which would place M2 and M3 above the upper bounds of their annual
ranges of 5 percent and 6 percent, respectively. This growth would imply a fall in velocity
of about 1-1/4 percent. Both aggregates are likely to accelerate to a 9 percent rate of growth
from September to December, with nearly a third of this growth reflecting projected Y2K
effects. These effects occur as the public shifts some of its wealth from outside the broad
aggregates into highly liquid forms, including currency, deposits, and money funds, and as

-12banks finance a bulge in lending. After the turn of the year, the advance of the broad
aggregates is predicted to be depressed for a few months as these temporary effects are
reversed.

-13Directive Language
(13)

Presented below for the members' consideration is the operational paragraph

for the intermeeting period.
OPERATIONAL PARAGRAPH
To promote the Committee's long-run objectives of price stability and
sustainable economic growth, the Committee in the immediate future seeks conditions in
reserve markets consistent with MAINTAINING/increasing/DECREASING the federal
funds rate to an average of around

____ [DEL: 5-1/4] view of the evidence currently
percent. In

available, the Committee believes that prospective developments are equally likely to warrant
an increase or a decrease [MORE LIKELY TO WARRANT AN INCREASE/A
DECREASE THAN A DECREASE /AN INCREASE] in the federal funds rate operating
objective during the intermeeting period.

Alternative Growth Rates for Key Monetary and Credit Aggregates
M2
Alt. B
Monthly Growth Rates
1999 Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec
2000 Jan
Feb
Mar

M3
Alt. C

Alt. B

Debt
Alt. C

All Alternatives

5.4
5.5
5.6
6.7
8.2
12.3
4.0
3.0
5.1

5.4
5.5
5.6
6.4
7.5
11.5
3.3
2.5
4.7

4.8
4.9
6.2
6.5
8.0
12.0
4.8
4.9
5.0

4.8
4.9
6.2
6.4
7.6
11.6
4.5
4.7
4.8

5.7
6.8
5.7
4.2
5.3
4.9
3.9
4.1
4.9

Quarterly Averages
1999 Q1
1999 Q2
1999 Q3
1999 Q4
2000 Q1

7.2
5.6
5.1
7.3
6.2

7.2
5.6
5.1
7.0
5.6

7.6
5.4
5.2
7.3
6.8

7.6
5.4
5.2
7.1
6.5

6.5
6.8
5.9
5.2
4.5

Growth Rate
From
Sep-99
Dec-99
Sep-99

To
Dec-99
Mar-2000
Mar-2000

9.1
4.0
6.6

8.5
3.5
6.0

8.9
4.9
7.0

8.6
4.7
6.7

4.8
4.3
4.6

1998 Q4

Sep-99

6.0

6.0

6.1

6.1

6.5

1997 Q4
1998 Q4
1998 Q4

1998 Q4
1999 Q3
1999 Q4

8.5
6.1
6.5

8.5
6.1
6.4

10.9
6.1
6.5

10.9
6.1
6.5

6.7
6.5
6.2

1999 Q4

Mar-2000

5.8

5.2

6.4

6.1

4.5

1999 Annual Ranges:

1.0 to 5.0

2.0 to 6.0

3.0 to 7.0

Chart 3

Actual and Projected M2
Billions of

4900

Actual Level
4800

Short-Run Alternatives

S

4700

4600

4500

-- 1%
4400

4300

Nov
1998

Jan

Mar

May

Jul
1999

Sep

Nov

4200
Jan
2000

Chart 4

Actual and Projected M3
Billions of Dollars

6800

-6700
-

Actual Level
*

Short-Run Alternatives
-6600

"6500
B

6400

6300
6%

6200

6100

2%
6000

5900

5800

Nov
1998

Jan

Mar

May

Jul
1999

Sep

Nov

Jan
2000

Mar

5700

Chart 5

Actual and Projected Debt
18000

17800
-

Actual Level
*

Projected Level

17600

17400

17200

17000

16800
-*3%

16600

16400

16200

16000

15800

Nov
1998

Jan

Mar

May

Jul
1999

Sep

Nov

Jan
2000

Mar

15600

SELECTED INTEREST RATES
(percent)

October 4, 1999
Long-term

,ort-term
bs
se
s

l et
th

i 1-year

ryDs
y
darket Comm.
paper

3-month

1-month

Indexed yields

U.S. government constant

maturity yields

3-year

I 5-year

1-year
5-year
I 10-year i h30-year 3Buyer

Moody's

Baa

10-year

Muni
Conventional home
mortgages
Municipal
Bonuyed primary market
d-e
Fixed-rate
ARM

98 -- High
-- Low

5.87
4.56

5.24
3.84

5.24
3.94

5.23
3.84

5.74
5.13

5.71
4.84

5.70
4.15

5.72
4.17

5.75
4.41

6.05
4.88

3.93
3.44

3.82
3.55

7.42
7.01

5.52
5.09

7.22
6.49

5.71
5.35

99 -- High
-- Low
Monthly
Oct 98
Nov 98
Dec 98

5.32
4.42

4.82
4.20

4.97
4.30

5.00
4.29

5.79
4.86

5.29
4.76

5.87
4.58

5.97
4.56

6.08
4.67

6.19
5.12

3.98
3.61

4.07
3.76

8.27
7.24

5.96
5.17

8.15
6.74

6.24
5.56

5.07
4.83
4.68

3.96
4.41
4.39

4.05
4.42
4.40

3.95
4.33
4.32

5.21
5.24
5.14

5.14
5.00
5.24

4.18
4.57
4.48

4.18
4.54
4.45

4.53
4.83
4.65

5.01
5.25
5.06

3.53
3.75
3.75

3.63
3.77
3.80

7.18
7.34
7.23

5.19
5.27
5.23

6.71
6.87
6.72

5.38
5.53
5.55

Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Weekly
Jul
Aug
Aug
Aug
Aug
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Oct
Daily
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Sep
Oct

4.63
4.76
4.81
4.74
4.74
4.76
4.99
5.07
5.22

4.34
4.44
4.44
4.29
4.50
4.57
4.55
4.72
4.68

4.33
4.44
4.47
4.37
4.56
4.82
4.58
4.87
4.88

4.31
4.48
4.53
4.45
4.60
4.82
4.75
4.91
4.96

4.89
4.90
4.91
4.88
4.92
5.13
5.24
5.41
5.50

4.80
4.80
4.82
4.79
4.79
4.95
5.06
5.18
5.28

4.61
4.90
5.11
5.03
5.33
5.70
5.62
5.77
5.75

4.60
4.91
5.14
5.08
5.44
5.81
5.68
5.84
5.80

4.72
5.00
5.23
5.18
5.54
5.90
5.79
5.94
5.92

5.16
5.37
5.58
5.55
5.81
6.04
5.98
6.07
6.07

3.73
3.70
3.84
3.72
3.65
3.78
3.94
3.96
3.89

3.81
3.79
3.90
3.90
3.85
3.94
4.01
4.03
4.05

7.29
7.39
7.53
7.48
7.72
8.02
7.95
8.15
8.20

5.23
5.27
5.31
5.29
5.37
5.53
5.61
5.81
5.92

6.79
6.81
7.04
6.92
7.15
7.55
7.63
7.94
7.82

5.60
5.65
5.77
5.60
5.72
5.91
5.99
6.18
6.20

5.65
5.71
5.84
5.86
5.83
5.89
5.90
5.92
5.93
5.96

7.70
7.89
8.15
7.93
7.80
7.83
7.88
7.82
7.76
7.70

5.99
6.09
6.24
6.18
6.22
6.18
6.21
6.22
6.19
6.12

99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
30
6
13
20
27
3
10
17
24
1

99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99

5.02
5.02
4.99
5.00
5.11
5.31
5.17
5.23
5.18
5.32

4.59
4.65
4.72
4.65
4.81
4.82
4.67
4.61
4.65
4.71

4.61
4.78
4.90
4.88
4.89
4.97
4.93
4.89
4.85
4.79

4.80
4.85
4.94
4.91
4.91
5.00
4.99
4.97
4.95
4.94

5.27
5.35
5.41
5.43
5.42
5.45
5.45
5.45
5.45
5.79

5.07
5.11
5.14
5.18
5.23
5.28
5.28
5.28
5.29
5.29

5.65
5.73
5.87
5.75
5.69
5.80
5.78
5.76
5.71
5.73

5.75
5.86
5.97
5.81
5.71
5.86
5.82
5.80
5.77
5.81

5.86
5.95
6.08
5.91
5.81
5.97
5.94
5.92
5.88
5.92

6.05
6.12
6.19
6.03
5.93
6.08
6.07
6.08
6.06
6.09

3.96
3.98
3.97
3.95
3.93
3.93
3.90
3.87
3.89
3.87

4.02
4.02
4.03
4.02
4.02
4.04
4.04
4.04
4.06
4.07

8.04
8.13
8.27
8.14
8.06
8.21
8.20
8.18
8.19

15
16
17
20
21
22
23
24
27
28
29
30
1

99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99
99

5.41
5.23
5.11
5.20
5.12
5.21
5.29
5.23
5.35
5.32
5.26
5.51
5.35 p

4.62
4.57
4.54
4.56
4.66
4.69
4.69
4.65
4.68
4.71
4.69
4.74
4.74

4.87
4.84
4.87
4.88
4.86
4.87
4.85
4.80
4.81
4.77
4.78
4.79
4.81

4.97
4.95
4.96
4.99
4.97
4.97
4.94
4.87
4.91
4.91
4.97
4.93
5.00

5.44
5.46
5.45
5.44
5.46
5.46
5.45
5.43
5.44
5.45
6.02
6.02
6.02

5.28
5.30
5.28
5.29
5.29
5.28
5.29
5.29
5.29
5.29
5.29
5.30
--

5.79
5.70
5.74
5.75
5.76
5.74
5.70
5.60
5.67
5.70
5.75
5.70
5.83

5.81
5.77
5.76
5.81
5.83
5.81
5.76
5.65
5.73
5.78
5.86
5.78
5.90

5.94
5.90
5.87
5.91
5.94
5.92
5.87
5.75
5.83
5.89
5.97
5.90
6.00

6.11
6.08
6.05
6.08
6.10
6.10
6.05
5.95
6.02
6.07
6.13
6.06
6.15

3.87
3.86
3.87
3.88
3.89
3.89
3.90
3.87
3.88
3.87
3.87
3.86
3.86

4.04
4.04
4.05
4.06
4.07
4.07
4.07
4.05
4.07
4.08
4.07
4.07
4.06

8.19
8.16
8.15
8.19
8.21
8.20
8.20
8.16
8.21
8.24
8.28
8.20

NOTE: Weekly data for columns 1 through 13 are week-ending averages. As of September 1997, data In column 6 are Interpolated from data on certain commercial paper trades settled by the Depository Trust Company; prior
to that, they reflect an average of offering rates placed by several leading dealers. Column 14 is the Bond Buyer revenue index, which is a 1-day quote for Thursday. Column 15 is the average contract rate on new
commitments for fixed-rate mortgages (FRMs) with 80 percent loan-to-value ratios at malor institutional lenders. Column 16 is the average initial contract rate on new commitments for 1-year, adjustable-rate mortgages
(ARMs) at major institutional lenders offering both FRMs and ARMs with the same number of discount points.
p- preliminary data

Strictly Confidential (FR)Class II FOMC

F

Money and Debt Aggregatesass

October 4. 1999

Seasonally adjusted

Seasonally adjusted

o___ stock measures
_nev

Domestic nonfinancial debt

nontransactions components
Period

M2

1

Annual arowth rates(%):
Annually (Q4 to Q4)
1996

M1

2

In M2

In M3 only

3

4

.
M
M3

5

6

o t he r
other'

to t a
total'

7

government

8

-4.5

4.6

8.6

15.3

6.8

3.8

6.0

5.4

-1.2

5.7

8.5

19.3

8.8

0.8

6.7

1.8

5.2

8.5

10.9

18.1

10.9

-1.1

9.3

6.7

5.0
2.8
3.5
-2%

11.0
7.2
5.6
5

13.0
8.7
6.3
74

18.4
8.6
4.7
50

12.9
7.6
5.4
54

-2.8
-3.1
-2.3

9.2
9.4
9.5

6.3
6.5
6.8

2.8
6.4
9.6
4.8

12.3
11.6
10.7
10.2

15.6
13.3
11.1
11.9

15.7
16.3
20.6
16.8

13.2
12.8
13.3
11.9

-2.7
-3.8
-2.6
-2.6

8.3
9.5
10.0
8.6

5.7
6.4
7.0
6.0

-2.6
1.8
10.3
7.0
-4.0
-3.9
-1.7
2.9
-9

6.5
5.6
2.7
8.8
4.5
4.2
5.4
5.5
6

9.6
6.8
0.2
9.4
7.3
6.8
7.6
6.3
10

-2.1
20.5
-11.5
7.9
6.1
9.5
3.2
3.3
8

4.2
9.5
-1.1
8.5
4.9
5.6
4.8
4.9
6

-2.6
-6.1
0.1
-1.7
-5.1
0.3
1.5

8.7
10.0
10.8
10.2
8.0
6.8
6.9

6.1
6.3
8.3
7.5
5.1
5.4
5.7

1108.4
1104.7
1101.1
1099.5
1102.2

4488.2
4505.1
4520.8
4541.0
4561.9

3379.8
3400.4
3419.8
3441.5
3459.6

1614.2
1622.4
1635.3
1639.7
1644.2

6102.4
6127.5
6156.1
6180.7
6206.1

3718.6
3702.8
3703.6
3708.1

12912.3
12998.9
13072.8
13148.3

2
9
16
23
30

1109.3
1102.6
1101.3
1106.4
1096.1

4559.5
4551.2
4556.3
4572.9
4568.1

3450.1
3448.6
3455.1
3466.5
3472.0

1631.8
1642.3
1644.5
1642.7
1651.6

6191.3
6193.5
6200.9
6215.6
6219.7

6
13p
20p

1096.9
1093.0
1095.2

4559.3
4570.1
4592.0

3462.3
3477.1
3496.8

1638.2
1657.2
1655.1

6197.5
6227.4
6247.1

1997

1998
Quarterly(average)
1998-Q4
1999-Q1
Q2
Q3 pe
Monthly
1998-Sep.
Oct.
Nov.
Dec.
1999-Jan.
Feb.
Mar.
Apr.
May
June
July
Aug.
Sep. pe
Levels (Sbillionsli
Monthly
1999-Apr.
May
June
July
Aug.
Weekly
1999-Aug.

Sep.

1.

Debt data are on a monthly average basis, derived by averaging end-of-month levels of adjacent months, and have been adjusted to remove discontinuities.

p
pe

preliminary
preliminary estimate

16630.9
16701.6
16776.4
16856.4

NET CHANGES IN SYSTEM HOLDINGS OF SECURITES
Millions of dollars, not seasonally adjusted

October 1, 1999

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL (FR)
CLASS II-FOMC

1

Period

524
5,549
6,297

3,898
20,080
12,901

1,501
1,369
2,024
1,403

2,262
2,993
4,524
3,122

283
495
654
862

1999 --01
---2
0

3,163
3,978

5,180
8,751

681
2,594

1998 September
October
November
December

1,038
741
662

3,989
725
2,397

1996
1997
1998
1998 --Q1
--- 02
---3
0
--04

---

9,147
3,550
--3,550

9,901

--2,000

9,901

9,147
1,550

2,000

-2,000

---

3,550

1,769
2,372

4,311
4,571
7,659
7,158

2,251
8,022
7,536
7,093

-12,184
-13,549
-10,034
-9,477

3,019
3,152

11,551
17,749

11,524
17,697

-8,004
-10,271

1,674
698

5,377
2,539
4,619

5,329
2,524
4,599
-30

-9,868
-12,553
-11,659
-6,096

123
5,190
6,238
5,520
10,337
1,893
910
3,223

121
5,190
6,213
5,520
10,337
1,841
900
3,212

-7,799
-10,380
-7,243
-8,603
-10,368
-12,644
-11,355
-10,868

1,013

965

743

615

1999 January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August

2,752
2,428
3,362
4,442
948
1,272

Weekly
June

2,404
262
2,890

1,075

948

16
23
30
July 7
14
21
28
August 4
11
18
25
September 1
8
15
22
29

-12,317
---16,247
-9,090
-.
10,473
-10,087
-13,670
-11,338
---11,437
-.
10,603
-9,846
-11,366
---10,163
-.
5,213
-1,812
1,529
..7

-4
951
-41

946
-41
-5

Memo: LEVEL (bil. $) 6
September 29

215.7

55.7

121.2

1,075

50.2

64.8

877
2,346

877
2,335

960

448
824

960

291.9

L

1. Change from end-of-period to end-of-period.
2. Outright transactions in market and with foreign accounts.
3. Outright transactions in market and with foreign accounts, and short-term notes acquired
in exchange for maturing bills. Excludes maturity shifts and rollovers of maturing issues.

507.8
____

4.8

______

4. Reflects net change in redemptions (-) of Tre asury and agency securities.
5. Includes change in RPs (+), matched sale-pu rchase transactions (-), and matched purchase sale transactions (+).
6. The levels of agency issues were as follows:
within
1 year
September 29

0.1

1-5
0.0

5-10
0.1

over 10
0.0

total
0.2