LONDON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve (Fed) is expected to step up its asset purchases as early as January, which would decrease by $ 30 billion per month, or double the current rate, and could thus put an end to this process of “tapering” by mid-March, believe the strategists of Goldman Sachs.
“The growing openness to an acceleration in the pace of reducing purchases is likely a reflection of both somewhat higher than expected inflation over the past two months and greater confidence by Fed officials in the fact that a faster pace will not shock the financial markets “, they explain in a note.
Despite the prospect of an acceleration in the tapering schedule, Goldman Sachs expects the Fed to start raising its key rates only from next June. The American investment bank, like several competitors, is now counting on three rate hikes in 2022 and no longer on two.
The minutes of the Fed’s November 2-3 policy meeting released on Wednesday showed that several members of the institution were ready to accelerate the gradual reduction of the bond purchase program if inflation remained high and to act more quickly to raise interest rates.
The Fed announced at the end of this meeting the launch of “tapering” with the reduction from November of its asset purchases to the tune of $ 15 billion per month, an amount adjustable according to the evolution of the economic situation.
(Saikat Chatterjee report, French version Laetitia Volga, edited by Marc Angrand)
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