It seems that the taper decision at the Board’s July meeting was a close run affair. Respectable arguments are set out for both sides. There is also less confidence about 2024 as the timing for the first rate hike while Covid disruptions are seen as temporary. The Minutes of the Reserve Bank Board meeting on July 6 highlight that the decision to taper the Bank’s purchases of bonds from $5 billion to $4 billion was subject to a healthy discussion. The Minutes note that “Members acknowledged that an argument could be made to retain the pace of bond purchases at $5 billion per week, given that economic outcomes were ... (full story)