The market thinks the Fed pays too much attention to it.
Seventy percent of respondents to the June CNBC Fed Survey said the Federal Reserve is too concerned with market reactions to its monetary policy, while half said the central bank is overly influenced by the latest high-frequency economic data.
“The Fed has paid too much attention to short-term market volatility,” said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics. “Communication is unclear. … The Fed needs to rethink and clarify the basis for policy decisions.”
But a 60 percent majority of respondents said the Fed pays the right amount of attention to international economic and financial developments, a key reason the central bank has been on hold since it raised rates for the first time in nine years last December.
Some think the Fed should go even further. “International markets and events are much more important than the Fed seems to recognize or to admit,” Robert Brusca of FAO Economics wrote in response to the survey.
The 41 survey respondents, who include economists, fund managers and analysts, unanimously think Fed policymakers will leave rates unchanged at current levels when they meet this week. Half pointed to the weak May jobs report as the main reason the Fed will pause. Only 13 percent cited uncertainty surrounding the Brexit vote on June 23. Survey respondents now expect the next rate hike will be in September, a month later than previously thought.
