by Calculated Risk on 3/06/2015 06:00:00 PM

From Tim Duy at Fed Watch: "Patient" is History

The February employment report almost certainly means the Fed will no longer describe its policy intentions as "patient" at the conclusion of the March FOMC meeting. And it also keep a June rate hike in play. But for June to move from "in play" to "it's going to happen," I still feel the Fed needs a more on the inflation side. ...

Bottom Line: "Patient" is out. Tough to justify with unemployment at the top of the Fed's central estimates of NAIRU. Pressure to begin hiking rates will intensify as unemployment heads lower. The inflation bar will fall, and Fed officials will increasingly look for reasons to hike rates rather than reasons to delay. They may not want to admit it, but I suspect one of those reasons will be fear of financial instability in the absence of tighter policy. June is in play.
emphasis added

CR Note: Based on Yellen's testimony last week, it seemed likely that "patient" would be dropped from the March FOMC statement.  June might be in play, but like Duy, I think the FOMC will wait until it is clear inflation is moving towards 2% before raising rates.