The Federal Reserve's balance sheet shrank in the latest week, Fed data released on Thursday showed.

The Fed's balance sheet - a broad gauge of its lending to the financial system - stood at $2.848 trillion on April 4, down from $2.861 trillion on March 28.

The Fed's holdings of Treasuries totaled $1.669 trillion as of Wednesday, April 4, versus $1.665 trillion the previous week.

The Fed's overnight direct loans to credit-worthy banks via its discount window averaged $10 million a day during the week versus $4 million a day previously.

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Federal Reserve balance sheet: http://link.reuters.com/cub62s

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The Fed's ownership of mortgage bonds guaranteed by Fannie Mae , Freddie Mac and the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) was $836.793 billion, which was little changed from $836.786 billion the previous week.

The Fed's holdings of debt issued by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the Federal Home Loan Bank system totaled $96.48 billion, which was unchanged on the week.

(Reporting by Chris Reese; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)

Fannie mae Mortgage Freddie mac Federal reserve