Fed quietly restarts QE through SOMA interest flows

“The Federal Reserve just bought $43.6 billion in US treasuries in the span of a week, sparking concerns that a quiet quantitative easing operation is underway. New documents show the Fed purchased $8.8 billion in 30-year bonds on May 8th via its System Open Market Account (SOMA) – a move that followed a $34.8 billion purchase earlier that same week.” https://dailyhodl.com/2025/05/24/fed-quietly-buys-43600000000-in-us-treasuries-in-alleged-stealth-qe-operation-after-china-abruptly-dumps-billions-in-bonds/

“Over four days last week, without fanfare, the Fed vacuumed up $43.6 billion in U.S. Treasurys… Quietly returning to the quantitative-easing trough isn’t standard Fed housekeeping — it’s like a bank robber returning to the scene because he forgot his car keys.” https://finance.yahoo.com/news/why-fed-quietly-buying-billions-112500917.html

Mechanics:

  • Purchases executed via SOMA (System Open Market Account)
  • Labeled as “reinvestments,” but scale and timing match QE behavior
  • Triggered by foreign bond dumping (China sold $18.9B in March)
  • Fed balance sheet stopped shrinking – QT paused

Implications:

  • Liquidity injections without formal QE announcement
  • Market impact: dollar weakening, commodities rising, gold surging
  • Fed avoids political backlash by not labeling it QE