Most recently, the Committee has introduced additional commentary on the outlook for policy into its statement. For example, the August 2003 statement of the FOMC indicated that “policy accommodation can be maintained for a considerable period,” a formulation replaced a few meetings later with the comment that the Committee could be “patient” in removing policy accommodation.
These statements conveyed information to markets about the Committee’s economic outlook as well as its policy approach. In my view, this language served an important purpose, illustrating in the process the value of central bank communication.