No change expected till ’22 in bond buying

Federal Reserve officials meeting next week are likely to put off any changes in their bondbuying program until 2022, when a tapering of purchases may begin, economists surveyed by Bloomberg News predict.

About 88 percent of the 40 respondents to a Jan. 15-20 questionnaire said the Federal Open Market Committee’s next move will be to shrink purchases gradually rather than to increase their pace.

The FOMC has its first meeting of 2021 on Tuesday and Wednesday, a week after the inauguration of President Joe Biden, who’s asking for $1.9 trillion in additional fiscal stimulus to help the coronavirus-ravaged economy.