Fed Funds Projected to Open at 0.07% to 0.10%, ICAP Says

Fed funds, the U.S. overnight inter- bank lending rate, is projected to open in a range of 0.07 percent to 0.10 percent, within the Federal Reserve’s target of zero to 0.25 percent.

Fed funds closed at 0.06 percent yesterday after trading from 0.04 percent to 0.10 percent and averaging 0.07 percent, ICAP Plc, the world’s largest inter-dealer broker, said in an e- mailed statement. ICAP’s monthly average is 0.083 percent.

The central bank will acquire Treasuries maturing from November 2019 to August 2021. The purchases are part of the Fed’s program to replace $400 billion of short-term debt in its portfolio with longer-term Treasuries in an effort to reduce borrowing costs further and counter rising risks of a recession.

The central bank plans to purchase from $4.25 billion to $5 billion of securities today, according to the New York Fed’s website.

To contact the reporter on this story: Liz Capo McCormick in New York at emccormick7@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net