For these reasons, we must continue to monitor incoming wage and price data carefully. Monetary policy implications Let me now turn to the implications for monetary policy of this assessment of the baseline outlook and associated risks.
The FOMC left the target range for the federal funds rate unchanged in January and March, in large part reflecting the changes in baseline conditions that I noted earlier. In particular, developments abroad imply that meeting our objectives for employment and inflation will likely require a somewhat lower path for the federal funds rate than was anticipated in December.