”Fed tempted by ‘QE3’ at latest meeting
The US Federal Reserve considered a new round of quantitative easing as an option at its September monetary policy meeting, suggesting that ‘QE3’ is still possible if the economy weakens further.
‘A number of participants saw large-scale asset purchases as potentially a more potent tool that should be retained as an option in the event that further policy action to support a stronger economic recovery was warranted,’ say minutes of the meeting, released on Wednesday.
At the September meeting the Fed launched ‘Operation Twist’ — a $400bn programme of selling short-dated and buying longer-dated Treasuries — in an effort to drive down long-term interest rates and support a failing economic recovery.
But the minutes suggest there is still an appetite on the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee for more measures to support growth.”
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