Market Is at Odds With Fed on Whether Bank Reserves Are Scarce

  • Some strategists say banks already reached scarcity level
  • Balances currently are $3.26 trillion in week through Oct. 25

The Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve building in Washington, DC.

Photographer: Samuel Corum/Bloomberg
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The Federal Reserve and some market participants are out of sync on whether reserves in the banking system — a key determinant for the central bank to continue its quantitative tightening — have already reached the appropriate level of scarcity.

Bank reserves totaled $3.26 trillion in the week through Oct. 25, Fed data show.