Between January 23 and January 30, the Federal Reserve's balance sheet decreased by $2.6 billion. The overall size of the balance sheet was essentially unchanged at $3.1 trillion.
Additional detail:
- Treasuries increased by $13.4 billion while MBS and agency debt decreased by $17.4 billion. Note that agency debt and MBS typically increase mid-month as a result of settlements and decline the week after as a result of prepayments. More detail is available on the New York Fed's website.
- Since mid-August 2012, decreased use of swap lines by foreign central banks has caused the balance sheet to contract by $22 billion.
- According to the New York Fed's tentative outright Treasury operation schedule, the desk plans to purchase approximately $44 billion in Treasury securities over the month of February. This amount is approximately $1 billion less than the stated pace of $45 billion per month, given that purchases conducted in January exceeded the target by approximately $1 billion.