Goldman Sachs raises odds on U.S. Fed taper announcement in Nov

[August 24, 2021]  LONDON (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs economists have raised the odds that the U.S. Federal Reserve will announce the start of tapering its bonds purchases in November, predicting the central bank will likely opt to dial back purchases by $15 billion at each meeting.

The Goldman Sachs company logo is on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, U.S., July 13, 2021. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

In a note, the investment bank said it had raised the odds that a formal taper announcement will come in November to 45% from a previous forecast of 25%, and lowered the December chance to 35% from 55%.

According to Goldman, a $15 billion per meeting total pace of tapering would likely be split between $10 billion of U.S. Treasuries and $5 billion of mortgage-backed securities.

"A November announcement coupled with a $15bn per meeting pace would mean that the FOMC would make the final taper at its September 2022 meeting," the Goldman Sachs analysts said in a note, referring to the Fed's Federal Open Markets Committee.

(Reporting by Dhara Ranasinghe; Editing by Tommy Wilkes)

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