But the proxy was imprecise and it wasn’t until the late 1980s that the committee became clearer about its federal funds rate expectation. 9  BIS Review 94/2000  of each meeting any change in its federal funds target and formalised that decision in February 1995. At the same time, it began to offer a brief statement explaining the rationale for the policy change.
A policy of issuing a statement even when there was no change in policy was implemented last year. The effect of monetary policy derives not only from the explicit policy actions taken, but also from expectations about future policy.