Fed injects cash into financial system
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics WriterThu Nov 15, 11:41 AM ET
The Federal Reserve injected a fresh infusion of $47.25 billion into the U.S. financial system on Thursday, reflecting normal operations as money flows into and leaves the market.
The net effect was it added $6.75 billion, when accounting for securities that expired, or matured, an official from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is responsible for conducting market operations for the central bank. Those operations help keep the Fed's key interest rate — called the federal funds rate — at its current target of 4.50 percent. The funds rate, the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans, affects other rates charged to millions of consumers and businesses. Thus, it is the Fed's main tool for influencing overall economic activity.
The total, or gross, cash infusion of $47.25 billion on Thursday came in three operations. That total amount was the most since September 2001, the New York Fed official said. However, the net, $6.75 billion, that ended up being added to the financial system in temporary reserves was considered within a normal range.
When the credit crunch took a turn for the worse, the Fed in August pumped large amounts of cash into the financial system to help ease financial institutions over any credit humps. The Fed also cut its lending rate to banks to help calm the turmoil on Wall Street.
The Fed took its most aggressive action beginning in September with a reduction to the federal funds rate, the first in more than four years. The Fed followed up that rate cut with another reduction in late October. At that time, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues signaled that those two rate cuts may be sufficient to get the economy safely through the credit crisis and severe housing slump.
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics WriterThu Nov 15, 11:41 AM ET
The Federal Reserve injected a fresh infusion of $47.25 billion into the U.S. financial system on Thursday, reflecting normal operations as money flows into and leaves the market.
The net effect was it added $6.75 billion, when accounting for securities that expired, or matured, an official from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York is responsible for conducting market operations for the central bank. Those operations help keep the Fed's key interest rate — called the federal funds rate — at its current target of 4.50 percent. The funds rate, the interest banks charge each other on overnight loans, affects other rates charged to millions of consumers and businesses. Thus, it is the Fed's main tool for influencing overall economic activity.
The total, or gross, cash infusion of $47.25 billion on Thursday came in three operations. That total amount was the most since September 2001, the New York Fed official said. However, the net, $6.75 billion, that ended up being added to the financial system in temporary reserves was considered within a normal range.
When the credit crunch took a turn for the worse, the Fed in August pumped large amounts of cash into the financial system to help ease financial institutions over any credit humps. The Fed also cut its lending rate to banks to help calm the turmoil on Wall Street.
The Fed took its most aggressive action beginning in September with a reduction to the federal funds rate, the first in more than four years. The Fed followed up that rate cut with another reduction in late October. At that time, the Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues signaled that those two rate cuts may be sufficient to get the economy safely through the credit crisis and severe housing slump.
No comments:
Post a Comment