Guide to Tapering and its meaning. We compare it with quantitative tightening, explain its causes, examples, and impact. The Federal Open Market Committee announced it is beginning to taper! But wait—what exactly is tapering? Tapering means gradually reducing the pace of the Fed’s securities purchases. Tapering is the Federal Reserve's gradual reduction in the pace of its large-scale asset purchases, like U.S. Treasury securities and mortgage-backed securities, after periods of quantitative easing to support the economy during crises. This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Tapering. If an internal link incorrectly led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Tapering is the gradual reduction of monetary stimulus measures, such as quantitative easing, undertaken by a central bank once an economy has shown signs of recovery. Tapering is a controlled and systematic form of monetary policy whereby the central bank either reduces or phases out the number of assets it purchases each month. Tapering is the measured reduction of quantitative easing (QE) or other expansionary monetary interventions conducted by a central bank. Tapering reduces the pace of asset purchases without stopping them abruptly. It often signals confidence in economic recovery. Learn what tapering means, how the Fed reduces asset purchases after quantitative easing, and historical examples like the 2013 taper tantrum. Tapering is the gradual slowing of the pace of the Federal Reserve’s large-scale asset purchases. Tapering does not refer to an outright reduction of the Fed’s balance sheet, only to a.