The Federal Reserve will not conduct Treasury-bill purchases for reserve management for a second consecutive month, reflecting its view that bank reserves remain ample and short-term funding markets are functioning smoothly. The New York Fed’s Open Market Trading Desk does not plan reserve-management purchases through Oct. 14, while it will buy about $15.6 billion of Treasuries to reinvest proceeds from maturing holdings. The Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR), a benchmark for Treasury-backed borrowing, has remained at or below the interest on reserve balances rate (IORB) for most of the past month, while reserves stood at $3.04 trillion on Sept. 9, up from $2.85 trillion at the end of last year and above the $3.01 trillion average for the year. The pause does not represent a change in monetary policy or the Federal Reserve’s balance-sheet strategy. Wells Fargo and Bank of America expect purchases to restart in mid-October if higher Treasury bill issuance creates funding pressure, Barclays projects $10 billion in October and $20 billion in November, and Citigroup expects the pause to continue through year-end.