[SquirrelKing]

This is nothing unexpected. As of the end of last fall the market was acknowledging that the great "refi boom" was all but over and I have been conditioning my clients for just that. By omitting the promise the Fed is just preparing the field for the inevitable rate increase that we all know is coming. This, at least, will make it easier to digest rather than having everything be all hunky-dory and then have the rug ripped out from under us.

[CasearianDaoist]

Don't you think that 1) they have to give OPEC some sort of (public) signal that this will happen sooner or later this year (can't have them pricing in Euros or a mixed basket) and 2) It gives the US a little more negotiating room in the upcoming G7 finance meeting.