The Federal Reserve’s gross purchases of mortgage-backed securities (MBS) from the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) reached $25.6bn for the week September 17 through September 23. The Fed uses its agency MBS-purchases program to provide credit to the securities market. The weekly purchases include $6.02bn from Freddie Mac (FRE), $18.5bn from Fannie Mae (FNM) and $1.1bn from Ginnie Mae. During that same time frame, the Fed sold $2.6bn of MBS part of the program, for a net of $23bn in weekly spending. The spending confirms the Federal Open Market Committee’s (FOMC) report that the Fed is on track to buy $1.25trn in agency MBS, and intends to wind down the purchasing program before its anticipated conclusion at the end of Q110. Barclays Capital analysts reported that the Fed has bought MBS at a “steady pace of $25bn per week.” It may be the last week of steady purchases, as the analysts expect the pace to slow slightly in the weeks to come. Write to Jon Prior.