Fed Quietly Buys $43.6 Billion In Bonds Amid Market Jitters

The U.S. Federal Reserve quietly snapped up $43.6 billion in U.S. Treasurys over four days last week—without any formal announcement—raising eyebrows on Wall Street, Charlie Garcia reported for MarketWatch.

Analysts say the move looks like stealth quantitative easing.

That included $8.8 billion in long-dated 30-year bonds on May 8 alone, plus $34.8 billion earlier in the week. Analysts say the move doesn’t look like routine balance sheet management—it looks like stealth quantitative easing.

“This isn’t tightening. It’s stealth easing. It’s monetary policy on tiptoes,” Garcia wrote. “Smart investors and commodity traders are starting to take notice.”

Gold prices, often a barometer of distrust in monetary and political stability, have surged since early 2024. “Gold doesn’t believe in politicians or central bankers,” Garcia quipped. “It believes numbers.”

China appears to be making a parallel move. Its central bank recently increased gold-import quotas, allowing domestic banks to swap U.S. dollars directly for gold.

The implication: China may be preparing to reduce its exposure to U.S. Treasurys.

Even a modest shift—say, converting 10% of China’s $784 billion Treasury holdings into gold—could rattle global markets, Garcia warned. “It’s like holding a fire hose over a lit match.”