The Federal Reserve is poised to decrease its interest in the mortgage bond market, according to a report on Bloomberg.
Fed-purchased securities, which helped to spur the housing recovery, are poised to fall below growth as soon as May, the report says.
The balance is shifting as the central bank steadily scales back its support of the U.S. economy at the same time home buying approaches its peak season. That creates a new challenge for a housing market that policy makers have been seeking to prop up since it crashed six years ago and threatens to inflate borrowing costs. Investors already are on edge over a Fed statement last week that fueled speculation it may raise short-term interest rates sooner than forecast.
“We’re within a few months of needing private demand to offset supply,” said Brad Scott, Bank of America Corp.’s New York-based head trader for a type of government-backed mortgage bond known as pass-through securities. “The hawkish statement from the Fed occurred at a precarious time for the asset class from a medium-term supply and demand perspective.”
