The Federal Reserve continued its slower mortgage bond purchases, buying up $16bn of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from government-sponsored entities in the week ending November 25. The Fed’s purchases shifted more toward Freddie Mac (FRE), with $6.5bn of Freddie MBS purchased this week, from $5.9bn last week. The Fed bought $6bn from Fannie Mae (FNM), compared with $4.55bn last week. The Fed also bought $3.5bn from Ginnie Mae this week, according to details released by the New York Fed. The weekly purchases push the running total to $1.03trn, according to weekly commentary by Barclays Capital. Most of the Fed’s net purchases (58%) were issued by Fannie, while Freddie accounts for 33% of net purchases and Ginnie accounts for 9%. The weekly transactions included no MBS sales. It’s part of the ongoing slow-down of the weekly purchases ahead of the program’s anticipated conclusion at the end of Q110. Write to Diana Golobay.