U.S. monetary authorities have intervened only once in foreign exchange markets since August of 1995. It seems likely that industrial countries official needs for foreign exchange reserves is more likely to have declined over time, than to have increased. The introduction of the Euro is clearly going to significantly alter reserve holdings.
The Federal Reserve has played an active role over the past 18 months in the development and implementation of policies to counter the financial crisis and its economic fallout. Steps taken have included lowering interest rates, making backup sources of liquidity available to private lenders, and using the Federal Reserve's lending capacity to try to revive a variety of financial markets.