Call money closes high at 6.55/6.65 per cent

Mumbai, Dec 11 (UNI) Interbank call rates rose sharply to register a climb of over 30 bps and end the day at 6.55-6.65 per cent at the closing session today, dealers said.

Expectedly, the CRR hike announced by the RBI late last week, had an adverse impact on the rates. Moreover, it being the beginning of a new fortnight, banks borrowed in excess to cover for their mandatory requirements.

The mismatch between the high demand and the limited supply which was significantly hit by the GOI bond auction sustained pressure on the call rates throughout the day.

The LAF window saw the RBI accepted just 13 bids worth a modest Rs. 8,510 crore at the 1-day reverse repo auction. This figure was nearly Rs.10,000 crore fewer than its correspondng figure of the previous trading session indicating the current liquidity crunch.

The CBLO segment saw 334 bids amounting to Rs.19,454 crore being transacted in the range of 6.23-6.75 per cent.

The cash surpluses are expected to be tested further in the week due to the impending advance corporate taxes. Consequently, inter bank rates are likely to inch further up, dealers added.

UNI AR OBB AG1954