U.S. Fed buys $3.7 billion of mortgage bonds, sells none

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve bought $3.683 billion of agency mortgage-backed securities in the week from Jun. 29 to Jul. 5, compared with $5.107 billion purchased the previous week, the New York Federal Reserve Bank said on Thursday.

In a move to help the housing market begun in October 2011, the U.S. central bank has been using funds from principal payments on the agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities, or MBS, it holds to reinvest in agency MBS.

The New York Fed said on its website the Fed sold no mortgage securities guaranteed byFannie Mae (OB:FNMA), Freddie Mac (OB:FMCC) or the Government National Mortgage Association, or Ginnie Mae, in the latest week. It sold none the prior week.