The Federal Reserve said on Friday it will begin buying US$60 billion of Treasury bills per month in mid-October as it seeks to rebuild its balance sheet and avoid a repeat of the turmoil that racked the money markets in September.

The Fed said its purchases of Treasury bills will extend “at least into the second quarter of next year,” according to a statement released in Washington.

“These actions are purely technical measures to support the effective implementation of the FOMC’s monetary policy, and do not represent a change in the stance of monetary policy,” the Fed said.