Via CIBC Research on Wednesday’s FOMC policy statement.

“Today’s FOMC announcement unfolded largely as expected, with policymakers commenting that economic activity and employment remain well below where they stood prior to the pandemic, despite picking up somewhat in recent months. Indeed, the outlook has become increasingly uncertain since the last meeting on account of the surge in virus cases and the re-tightening of social distancing in many states, with the Fed noting that the path forward for the economy depends significantly on the virus which is expected to weigh heavily on activity in the near term. While the Fed stands ready to do more to support the recovery, as shown by the extension in several credit facilities beyond their initial deadlines, the fiscal support package being discussed by Congress remains an unknown” 

“As a result, they appear to have opted to wait for the September meeting, when the next set of forecasts are due, to provide more concrete forward guidance on future rate hikes by perhaps tying them to the outcome of a macro variable. Tomorrow’s Q2 GDP report will provide a starting point for assessing the scale of the output gap”