MNI BRIEF: Fed's Powell - MBS Not Main Fuel to Housing Prices

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said Wednesdat the central bank's agency mortgage-backed securities purchases are not the primary reason for the hot housing market but officials will debate pulling back on those purchases in the coming FOMC meeting.

"They aren't especially important in what's happening with with housing prices," Powell told members of Congress. "They are a factor among factors, so this is one of the things that we'll be considering as we go through this process of evaluating when to taper, in what form, what will be the composition of asset purchases going forward. Those are all issues that we'll be discussing at this next meeting in a couple of weeks."

MNI has previously reported that the central bank could consider an MBS-led taper, but some Fed officials have said such a move may be unnecessarily complicated. Members of the Fed Board's Community Advisory Council have said the hot housing prices are an obstacle for a more inclusive recovery.