Minutes from the Fed’s discount rate meetings shortly before the July FOMC meeting show a not very hawkish 4 votes (out of 12) to increase the Discount Rate, from the Cleveland, Dallas, Kansas City and Minneapolis Feds.
The FOMC meeting saw three hawkish dissents, from Cleveland Fed’s Hammack, Dallas Fed’s Logan and Minneapolis Fed’s Kashkari. The Kansas City Fed president Schmid is not a voter but a known hawk. That no other district Feds backed a hike is a little less hawkish than we would have expected, suggesting that some recent softer than expected data has been noted. There are twelve Fed districts, five of whose presidents have a vote at the FOMC. Philadelphia Fed’s Paulson and New York Fed’s Williams (the one district with a permanent vote) voted for steady policy in July.