Goldman Sachs on the Fed's Statement: "More Dovish Than Expected"

From ZeroHedge:

Via Goldman Sachs' Jan Hatzius,
The March FOMC statement and projections suggested that September rather than June appears to be the most likely date for the first hike of the fed funds rate. Although the change to the "patient" forward guidance was close to expectations, the shift in the "dot plot" was most consistent with two rather than three 25 basis point hikes to the target range occurring in 2015. In addition, changes to the Committee's economic assessment were a bit more dovish.

MAIN POINTS:
1. As widely expected, the FOMC decided to drop its "patient" formulation in its forward guidance regarding the date of the first rate hike. It explicitly noted that a hike at the upcoming April meeting was unlikely, while stating that the Committee will hike "when it has seen further improvement in the labor market and is reasonably confident that inflation will move back to its 2 percent objective over the medium term."

2. Changes to the Committee's assessment of economic activity were generally dovish, with growth at a "solid pace" downgraded to growth having "moderated somewhat." In particular, "export growth weakened."

3. The median projection for the fed funds rate (or "dot") fell 50bp to 0.625% at end-2015, fell 62.5bp to 1.875% at end-2016, and fell 50bp to 3.125% at end-2017. Two participants again indicated that a hike would not be appropriate until 2016, while one indicated a target range of 25-50bp at end-2015 and seven indicated a target range of 50-75bp at end 2015 (a group that is highly likely to include the leadership of the Committee), most likely consistent with a first hike in September. The median longer run projection was unchanged at 3.75%, but many participants reduced their longer run dot by 25bp....MORE