MNI BRIEF: KC's George Eyes Market Functioning As Fed Nears QT

Kansas City Fed President Esther George on Monday said that as the central bank nears the start of rolling off assets from its nearly USD9 trillion balance sheet this summer it will be critical to see how the market continues to function.

"I think we need to see this process get underway, but I think watching market functioning will be particularly important over the course of the summer and into the fall to see how the market digests the roll off of that big balance sheet," she said in Q&A at a Kansas City Fed agricultural event.

The Fed is set to begin rolling off Treasuries and MBS from its balance sheet starting June 1 at a total of USD47.5 billion per month for three months before ramping up even higher to USD95 billion in September. Treasury Under Secretary Nellie Liang has told MNI earlier this month lower Treasury market liquidity is something to watch, and ex-Fed officials have commented that QT may have a deeper tightening effect than expected.