Powell Excerpt: Uncertain On Balance Sheet After September 30

     WASHINGTON (MNI) - The following is a response of Federal Reserve Chairman

Jerome Powell to a question from a reporter at his press conference following

Wednesday's Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

Question: Hi, Jean Yung from Market News. I wanted to ask, at what point do you

expect to begin to allow the balance sheet to grow slowly again?  How will you

make that decision?

Powell: As I mentioned, the balance sheet runoff will stop at September 30.  If

it is our view at that time that we are still a ways away from, a ways above a

balance sheet that is what we need to officially and effectively conduct

monetary policy, at that time, we will hold the balance sheet constant, and then

what will happen is organically very gradually currency and other nonreserve

liabilities will grow and reserves will shrink.  The question you are asking is

how long will that go  on.  The truth is we don't know.  We don't really know

that we will move past September 30 that the legal of reserve demand is

something that we have put a lot of effort and time into  creating estimates

based on market intelligence and surveys.  The truth is we don't know. It may

evolve over time.  We will just have to see.  I wouldn't want to put a time out

there for that.  But so I'll just leave it there.

--MNI Washington Bureau; +1 (973) 494-2611; email: harrison.clarke@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: MMUFE$,M$U$$$]