Powell To Face Questioning On QT Discussions

One of the primary thrusts of questioning for Powell in 10 minutes will be on that relatively vague balance sheet runoff "principles" document.

• Something like it was always going to come out prior to starting QT, and it appears that the FOMC today agreed on the very basic principles with nothing seeming to be particularly controversial vs what we already knew.
• At some point later this year, ahead of initiating QT, they will almost certainly publish a more detailed document, more explicitly outlining some of the parameters of runoff.
• So, Powell will be asked about the decision to release this document now (they began discussions in the December FOMC and Powell said in his Congressional testimony that it usually took 2, 3, 4 meetings to figure this stuff out), and what it means for the timing of the start of QT (and, perhaps, why they didn't just end QE immediately if they are so advanced in talks on QT).
• And perhaps we'll get an indication of the flavor of the internal discussion today, particularly the options around ramping-up QT, caps, reinvestments, the role of MBS vs Tsys.