Comments from Yellen in the question and answer period after the opening statement:

  • Inflation outlook has softened somewhat, cites USD and oil as negative factors
  • We can never expect uncertainty to be fully resolved
  • In light of the developments we want more time to evaluate
  • Further improvements in labor market would bolster confidence that inflation will rise

Asked about Oct being a live meeting:

  • Every meeting is a live meeting, that certainly includes Oct
  • We were to decide to hike in Oct we would call a press briefing
  • October remains a possibility, we want to see if the US economy is doing well
  • Domestic developments have been positive
  • We still want to bolster our confidence in inflation returning to target

On tightening:

  • We don't want to wait until we've fully met our goals before moving rates
  • We're way below our inflation target but an important reason is declines in import prices/commodities
  • In the inter-meeting period, we've had disinflationary developments but we view them as transitory
  • Jobs have bolstered confidence in outlook in the intermeeting period
  • TIPS breakevens caught our attention
  • "The labor market is really important"

On forecasts that show low unemployment but low inflation

  • Overshooting on unemployment helps inflation get back to target faster than it normally would

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