Minnesota Homes Today Local & National News

  • Home
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Resources
    • Buyers Guide
    • Sellers Guide
    • Buyer Info
    • Seller Info
    • Closing Costs
    • Home Appraisal
    • Home Inspection
    • Loan Checklist
    • Loan Process
    • Loan Programs
  • Contact

Fed Meeting Minutes Reflect Support For Reducing QE Program

August 22, 2013 by Bob Elliot Leave a Comment

Fed Meeting Minutes Reflect Support For Reducing QE ProgramThe minutes of last month’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting show significant support for tapering the Fed’s current amount of monthly securities purchases. These purchases, known as quantitative easing (QE), are an effort to maintain lower long-term interest rates including mortgage rates.

The Fed has been buying $85 billion per month in Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities (MBS).

Ben Bernanke, chairman of the Federal Reserve and FOMC has hinted at “tapering” the Fed’s securities purchases by year-end in recent statements. The FOMC minutes released Wednesday further suggest that tapering based on strengthening economic trends is likely.

FOMC Members Express Mixed Views

The minutes for the last FOMC meeting, which took place on July 30 and 31, states that many members are “broadly comfortable” with tapering QE securities purchases later this year if the economy continues to improve. At the same time, many FOMC members indicated that it “isn’t yet time” to scale back the purchases.

All along, the FOMC has emphasized that it will closely monitor domestic and global financial and economic developments as part of its decision about when tapering the QE purchases will begin.

The minutes for July’s meeting reflected this sentiment and noted “A few members emphasized the importance of being patient and evaluating additional information on the economy before deciding on any changes to the pace of asset purchases.”

On the other side of the issue, the minutes note that a few members said that “It might soon be time to slow somewhat the pace of purchases as outlined in the QE plan.”

QE Tapering Not The Only Influence On Mortgage Rates

The Fed is likely to monitor its words as well as economic conditions, as previous announcements about tapering QE made by Chairman Bernanke and FOMC have created havoc in world financial markets.

In relation to mortgage rates, it’s likely that tapering QE purchases will cause mortgage rates to rise. Demand for bonds will fall as the Fed reduces its purchases, falling bond prices usually cause mortgage rates to rise.

It’s important to keep in mind that tapering QE securities purchases is only one among many things that can impact financial markets, mortgage rates and the economy.

While the Fed is expected to begin tapering its securities purchases as soon as September, developing economic news throughout the world can potentially impact mortgage rates and could cause the Fed to revise its timeline for tapering the volume of its securities purchases.

Filed Under: Federal Reserve Tagged With: Federal Reserve, Mortgage Based Securities, Quantitative Easing

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Bob Elliot

Contact Bob Elliot

Broker Agent
CRS, GRI, CDPE

CALL 612.868.5500
Lic #: 40241196
eXp Realty
Bob Elliot
Free Buyers' Guide →
Free Sellers' Guide →

Connect with Me!

Let’s Keep In Touch!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Realtor EQO

Quick Links

  • About Me
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Blog
  • Contact

Looking For Something?

Categories

Located in St. Paul, Minnesota

Copyright © 2023 · Powered by MySMARTblog