The quiet, subtle decline in the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet continued in April. As of May 1st, the Fed’s balance was at $4.47 trillion. While undoubtedly still incredibly large, the Fed’s balance sheet is about $45 billion less than its peak level on January 16, 2015. Total assets at the Fed are back to levels last seen on October 17th. Total assets at the Fed have declined by nearly $29 billion over the past three months. On a rolling three-month basis, the Fed’s balance sheet has been declining for the last two months.
As we highlighted before, the three-month difference in total Fed assets has produced some interesting relationships since QE started. Below are some economic indicators that caught our eye.
