Econoday Economic Report: Fed Balance Sheet January 12, 2012

2012 Economic Calendar

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Fed Balance Sheet

Released On 1/12/2012 4:30:00 PM For wk1/11, 2012

	Prior	Actual
Total Assets - Weekly Change	$-8.4 B	$-18.6 B
Reserve Bank credit - Weekly Change	$-19.6 B	$-17.8 B

Highlights
The Fed's balance showed slippage in the latest week. For the January 11 week, the Fed's balance sheet fell $18.6 billion after an $8.4 billion drop the prior week. The decline was led by holdings of Treasuries which dropped $12.6 billion, following an $8.7 billion fall the prior week. Liquidity problems in Europe may be stabilizing as central bank liquidity swaps declined $8.4 billion in the latest week. Total assets for the January 11 week decreased to $2.902 trillion.

Reserve Bank credit for the January 11 week decreased $17.8 billion after falling $19.6 the prior period.

Note: Total assets in the Fed's H.4.1 report are Wednesday levels while Reserve Bank credit is an average of daily figures for the week ending on the same Wednesday. Changes in total assets are from Wednesday to Wednesday while changes in Reserve Bank credit are for weekly averages.

Definition
The Fed's balance sheet is a report showing factors supplying reserves into the banking system and factors absorbing (using) reserve funds. Essentially, the balance sheet shows the various Fed programs for injecting liquidity into the economy and how much the Fed has used each for adding or withdrawing reserves. This report is called Factors Affecting Reserve Balances - or the "H.4.1" report using Fed jargon. Why Investors Care