UPDATE: Fed To Release Mortgage Purchase Data At 3 PM EST
January 08 2009 - 2:30PM
Dow Jones News
The Federal Reserve, which started buying mortgage-backed
securities guaranteed by Fannie Mae (FNM), Freddie Mac (FRE) and
Ginnie Mae this week, is expected to release its purchase tab
around 3 p.m. EST (2000 GMT) Thursday.
The release had initially been expected at 4:30 p.m. EST (2130
GMT) as part of the Fed's balance sheet, which is published every
Thursday. But because the purchases haven't settled yet, the data
will be published separately on the New York Fed's Web site.
Since Monday, the New York Fed has been buying these mortgage
securities in a bid to boost the sagging investor interest in these
bonds and stabilize the housing market.
The central bank has said it would buy up to $500 billion of
these securities in the first half of the year, and more if
needed.
Market participants expect the Fed's purchases to be in the
range of $3 billion to $4 billion daily, if it were to keep its
aggressive purchase plan.
The extent of Fed purchases is expected to prompt other
investors, who had shied away from this market, to return.
The presence of the Fed in the mortgage-backed securities market
has pushed risk premiums on these bonds to tighter levels. As a
result, mortgage rates that homeowners pay are expected to
fall.
-By Prabha Natarajan, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5071;
prabha.natarajan@dowjones.com
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