During a critical meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee on Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell reportedly suspended a presentation on inflation metrics to gauge whether the rest of the room was also feeling "a bit of a draft."
The unexpected interruption occurred during the second hour of deliberations at the Eccles Building in Washington, D.C. According to meeting transcripts, Powell raised his hand midway through a staff economist's slide on core PCE inflation, rubbed his upper arms, and inquired if the air conditioning was still running despite it being mid-November.
Board members reportedly spent the next fifteen minutes debating the ambient temperature of the boardroom, with several governors noting that while they themselves were comfortable, they could see how the vent directly above the Chairman’s seat might be circulating cold air down the back of his neck.
We were right in the middle of analyzing the cooling labor market when the Chairman crossed his arms, shivered visibly, and asked if he was crazy or if it was freezing in here.
Attempts to resolve the issue were temporarily stymied when officials discovered the boardroom thermostat was locked inside a clear plastic tamper-proof box. A junior staffer was eventually dispatched to locate a building facilities manager, while Vice Chair Philip Jefferson offered Powell a spare quarter-zip fleece he kept draped over his office chair.
Markets remained largely flat following the incident, though analysts note that the central bank ultimately elected to table its interest rate decision until somebody named Gary from maintenance could come up and take a look at the vents.