US: Fed’s Beige Book in focus today – BMO CM

Analysts at BMO Capital Markets point out that in May’s FOMC Minutes, voting participants “generally judged that it would be prudent to await additional evidence indicating that the recent slowing in the pace of economic activity had been transitory before taking another step in removing accommodation.”

Key Quotes

“The Beige Book, covering the period from mid-April to late May, will be scrutinized accordingly. The previous report said the pace of expansion among the Districts was “equally split between modest and moderate” and it will be interesting to see whether this assessment now tilts one way or the other. It also said “employers in most Districts had more difficulty filling low-skilled positions,” a tight-market reference that has usually been reserved for higher-skilled workers. Wage increases were only “modest” but had “broadened.”