Fed takes action to control short-term interest rates
Posted September 17, 2019 1:18 pm.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has carried out $53 billion in transactions known as repurchase agreements Tuesday as a way to relieve upward pressure on interest rates in overnight money markets.
Economists do not see the action as a signal about where the Fed plans to move its key policy rate, known as the federal funds rate, but rather as a technical exercise to keep the rate in the range set by the central bank.
The Fed is expected to cut this benchmark rate for a second time this year at its meeting this week.
The target for the funds rate, which is the interest rate banks pay each other for overnight loans, currently stands in a range of 2% to 2.25% after a quarter-point cut in July.
Martin Crutsinger, The Associated Press
