When the Fed uses open market operations to buy government bonds, what is the effect on interest rates?

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

To analyze the question, we start from the action described: the Fed buys government bonds on the open market. This operation adds reserves to the banking system and increases the supply of money.
Option 1: 'They decrease.' This is correct because when the Fed purchases bonds, it raises bank reserves, which puts downward pressure on short-term interest rates like the federal funds rate, and often lowers other rates as well due to the increased liquidity.
Option 2: 'They slow down.' This is a mischaracterization. Interest rates are not described as 'slowing down' in monetary policy terms; rates are a price (per unit of time/value) rather than a speed. The action primarily influences the level of rates, not a generic notion of slowing.
Option 3: 'They stimulate.' While the overarching goal of these operations is to stimulate the economy by reducing rates, this statement is too vague and does not directly answer the specific question about the effect on interest rates. It describes a consequence or intent rather than the concrete mechanism and direction of the rate change.
Option 4: 'They increase.' This is incorrect in the standard transmission of open market purchases. Buying bonds tends to raise reserves and push rates down, not up; increasing rates would require selling bonds or tightening policy, not asset purchases.

2025SU BSN 100 01 Quiz: Chapter15

When the Fed uses open market operations to buy government bonds, what is the effect on interest rates?

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2025SU BSN 100 01 Quiz: Chapter15

When the Fed uses open market operations to buy government bonds, what is the effect on interest rates?

View Explanation

Log in for full answers

Similar Questions

If the Federal Reserve wants to lower the federal funds rate, it will ____.

If the central bank wants to achieve the results shown in Panel (a), it should

An open market sale by the Federal Reserve ______ the monetary base and ______ the size of the Fed's balance sheet.

3e) In response to part (d), the Federal Reserve buys bonds and increases the supply of reserves in the banking system.

3e) In response to part (d), the Federal Reserve [ Select ] buys sells issues bonds and [ Select ] increases decreases doesn't change the supply of reserves in the banking system.

An open market sale by the Federal Reserve ______ the monetary base and ______ the size of the Fed's balance sheet.

The Federal Reserves usually implements its open market operations by buying and selling

More Practical Tools for Students Powered by AI Study Helper

Making Your Study Simpler

An open market sale by the Federal Reserve the monetary base and the size of the Fed's balance sheet.

An open market sale by the Federal Reserve the monetary base and the size of the Fed's balance sheet.