A Review of the US Financial Situation at the May FOMC Meeting

In its meeting, the FOMC indicated that US financial market volatility had increased since its last meeting in March. Members felt that low-volatility (VXX) strategies had been less prevalent in February, leading to market turmoil. The May meeting minutes indicated that members felt that US financial conditions had somewhat tightened in the inter-meeting period but that they remained accommodative—a signal that members were comfortable with the further tightening of financial conditions.