According to Odaily Planet Daily, U.S. banking system reserves, a key factor in the Federal Reserve's decision to continue shrinking its balance sheet, fell by about $59 billion to $2.93 trillion in the week ending October 22, according to data released by the Federal Reserve on Thursday. This is the lowest level since the week of January 1.

The U.S. Treasury increased debt issuance to rebuild its cash balance after the July debt ceiling increase, draining liquidity from other liabilities on the Fed's books, such as its overnight reverse repurchase agreement facility and bank reserves. With the so-called ON-RRP (overnight reverse repurchase agreement) facility nearly empty, commercial bank reserves at the Fed have been declining. Strategists at JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, TD Securities, and Wrightson all expect the Fed to stop shrinking its roughly $6.6 trillion balance sheet this month. (Jinshi)