Full text of U.S. Financial Data : November 18, 1999

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November 18, 1999

USFinancialData
THE WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS:
At its Nov. 16 meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee
voted to raise its federal funds rate target from 5.25 percent
to 5.5 percent. In conjunction with this move, the Board of
Governors approved a 25 basis point increase in the discount
rate to 5 percent. In announcing these actions, the Federal
Reserve press release noted the following:
“Although cost pressures appear generally contained, risks
to sustainable growth persist. Despite tentative evidence of
a slowing in certain interest-sensitive sectors of the economy
and of accelerating productivity, the expansion of activity
continues in excess of the economy’s growth potential. Today’s
increase in the federal funds rate, together with the policy
actions in June and August and the firming of conditions
more generally in U.S. financial markets over the course of
the year, should markedly diminish the risk of inflation going
forward. As a consequence, the directive the Federal Open
Market Committee adopted is symmetrical with regard to the
outlook for policy over the near term.”
The consumer price index (CPI), after increasing at a 4.2 percent
annual rate between June and September, rose at a 2.2 percent
rate in October. Through the first 10 months of 1999, the CPI
has risen at a 2.8 percent rate.
United States Financial Data will not be published next week
because of the Thanksgiving Holiday.
All data are seasonally adjusted unless otherwise indicated.
U.S. Financial Data is published weekly by the Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of
St. Louis. For more information on data, please call (314) 444-8590. To be added to the mailing
list, please call (314) 444-8808 or (314) 444-8809.
Information in this publication is also included in the Federal Reserve Economic Data (FRED) electronic
bulletin board at (314) 621-1824 or internet World Wide Web server at www.stls.frb.org/fred.