(Reuters) – The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet increased to a record $6.70 trillion this week, but the pace of expansion slowed dramatically as key credit markets have calmed since a firestorm of volatility sparked by the coronavirus pandemic drove the central bank to take emergency measures last month.
The central bank’s balance sheet as of Wednesday was about $81.75 billion higher than the $6.62 trillion a week earlier, data released by the Fed on Thursday showed.
In all the Fed’s stash of bonds and other assets is up nearly 60% from just $4.2 trillion in the first week of March.
(Reporting by Dan Burns; Editing by Sandra Maler)
