| Fed may go for another round of bond purchase |
NEW YORK Despite improved US hiring last month, most Wall Street economists still expect the Federal Reserve to do more to stimulate growth this year, with the majority looking for action as soon as September.
The median of forecasts from a poll of 17 primary dealers - the large financial institutions that do business directly with the Fed - showed a 63 per cent chance the central bank will for the third time expand its balance sheet via large-scale bond purchases.
If the Fed does act, 13 said they thought it would do so at its next policy meeting in September, up from eight in a July 6 poll of 16 dealers.
There are 21 US primary dealers. Friday’s poll was conducted after a government report showed employers added 163,000 new jobs in July, the most in five months. That was above the 100,000-job gain economists expected and prompted some dealers to reduce slightly their expectations for a new round of purchases, known as quantitative easing, or QE3.
In the July poll, which followed a weaker-than-expected jobs report, the median forecast showed a 70 per cent chance of QE3.
“Better figures in July are consistent with our view that job growth and activity will improve in the third quarter, and we expect that to be enough to keep them on hold,” said Dean Maki, chief economist at Barclays Capital. But many respondents cited underlying weakness in Friday’s data, including a rise in the jobless rate to 8.3 per cent and revisions showing employers hired fewer workers in May and June than initially reported, as justification for more Fed action.
“The headline number was better but the report was pretty soggy beneath the surface,” said Ward McCarthy, chief financial economist at Jefferies & Co, who sees an 80 per cent chance of more Fed stimulus. “The labor market, like the economy, is moving forward, but it’s a frustratingly slow process.”
The US recovery lost momentum over the last few months, with growth slowing to a 1.5 per cent rate in the second quarter from 1.9 per cent between January and March.
The Fed said this week it was ready to do more if needed, but was short on details. In two prior rounds of QE, it bought $2.3 trillion in mortgage and government debt in a bid to depress borrowing costs.
If the Fed launches QE3, three dealers expected it to buy only mortgages, while the rest expected a mix. The median estimate for the program’s size was $500 billion.
Some dealers said the central bank may use the September meeting to announce alternative stimulus measures.
“We expect further Fed asset purchases, and while this is possible at the September meeting if the data continue to disappoint, our central expectation is that a return to QE is more likely in late 2012 or early 2013,” said Goldman Sachs economist Jari Stehn.
Instead, Goldman said the Fed may tell markets next month that it does not intend to raise overnight interest rates until mid-2105. These have been near zero since late 2008 and the Fed has said they are likely to stay there until at least late 2014. Five dealers expect the first rate increase to come that year, while 11 expect the Fed to hold off until 2015 or later. One expected the central bank to raise borrowing costs in 2013. Michael Gregory, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, thought policymakers might pair extending the rate rise timeline with reducing the rate it pays banks that park their excess reserves with the Fed.
Reuters
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