The Clap
The Fed is set to release the minutes from its last meeting, where it will likely reveal details about its reducing its assets.
Backstory
Since the start of the pandemic, the Fed has been injecting money into the economy by purchasing bonds at a relatively aggressive rate. The Fed’s balance sheet has grown to a record $8.9 trillion in assets. The Fed announced plans to taper sometime this year, & taper it will.
The deets
Investors are expecting the minutes, which are set to be released at 2:00 PM Washington time today, to show a much faster rate of reduction than the last time it went through this process from 2017 to 2019.
Why this matters
The Fed is racing to tackle decades-high inflation, & is expected to continue raising interest rates after it raised them in its last meeting. Strong unemployment figures also recently came in, strengthening the case for higher rates. The Fed is expected to begin its roll-off in May 2022.
