Economists Expect a New Fed Bond Buying Program to Help Economy During Fiscal Cliffhanger Talks

“The Federal Reserve is set to announce a fresh round of Treasury bond purchases when it meets next week, avoiding monetary policy tightening to maintain support for the weak U.S. economy amid uncertainty over the looming year-end fiscal cliff.

Many economists think the U.S. central bank will announce monthly bond purchases of $45 billion after its policy gathering on December 11-12, signaling it will continue to pump money into the U.S. economy during 2013 in a bid to bring down unemployment.

“We expect status quo,” said Laurence Meyer of the forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers. “We expect purchases will continue at the same monthly rate as over the last three months; that the composition will be the same, and that the maturities distribution will be the same.” ”

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