US Fed plans further quantitative easing
15 Jan 2013
Federal Reserve chairman Ben S Bernanke has indicated a further easing of liquidity through planned monthly purchases of $85 billion of treasury bonds to bolster the economy.
This is a $45 billion increase from the current rate of $40 billion in monthly purchases.
''So far, we think we are getting some effect, it is kind of early,'' Bernanke said at the University of Michigan's Gerald R Ford School of Public Policy in Ann Arbor on Monday.
''We are going to continue to assess how effective'' the programme is ''because it is possible that as you move through time and the situation changes that the impact of these tools could vary,'' he added.
The Federal Open Market Committee had, in December, 2012 decided to increase the amount of bond buy-backs by $45 billion in addition to the monthly purchases of $40 billion of mortgage-backed securities.
The committee set no limit on the size or duration of the bond purchases.
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