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FOMC Minutes: Fed To Aim For USD95B Cap To Shrink Balance Sheet

FED
  • (MNI) - The Federal Reserve will begin rapidly shrinking its USD8.9 trillion balance sheet starting as early as May as part of a broader tightening campaign that has officials considering one or more 50BP rate hikes this year, minutes from the central bank's March meeting showed.
  • "Participants generally agreed that monthly caps of about $60 billion for Treasury securities and about $35 billion for agency MBS would likely be appropriate.”
  • “Participants also generally agreed that the caps could be phased in over a period of three months or modestly longer if market conditions warrant," the March FOMC minutes said.
  • FOMC members agreed they are “well placed to begin the process of reducing the size of the balance sheet as early as after the conclusion of its upcoming meeting in May."
  • As for rate hikes, "many participants noted that one or more 50 basis point increases in the target range could be appropriate at future meetings, particularly if inflation pressures remained elevated or intensified."

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