Fed plans to buy back $97 bln in Treasurys Related stories * Treasurys decline after 30-year auction (Feb. 10) * Fed buys $7.375 bln in Treasurys; bonds stay up (11:17a) * Treasurys pare gains on Mubarak news (4:09p) * Treasurys rally after auction, Bernanke (Feb. 9)

y Deborah Levine

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — The Federal Reserve Bank of New York said Thursday it plans to purchase about $97 billion in Treasury debt in the next month, continuing its policy of buying bonds to keep interest rates low and aid the economy’s recovery. The purchases also include $17 billion of reinvestments of cash from the Fed’s maturing mortgage-related holdings into Treasury securities. The Fed delineated 18 open market operations through March 9. The Fed has purchased about $397 billion in U.S. debt since August, when the mortgage reinvestment plan began, according to Morgan Stanley.