It’s tapering time for the Fed

After the Federal Reserve’s (Fed) meeting last week, Chairman Jerome Powell explained that they would start to reduce the pace of asset purchases, a process called tapering. Can the markets withstand this reduction in liquidity? Find out more in this episode.
Since Covid hit the United States in March last year, the Fed had been purchasing USD 120 billion a month in securities. It plans to reduce these purchases by USD 15 billion each month starting from this December. Powell noted that the asset purchases had been a critical tool supporting the economy and the markets. However it was time to taper since the economy had reached major goals. With these actions, monetary policy is expected to continue to provide strong support to the economic recovery.
Our experts Mark Matthews, Head of Research Asia and David Kohl, Chief Economist at Julius Baer Germany share their view about quantitative easing and the Fed’s tapering plans, and explain what it means for markets.