Call money closes high at 11.00/11.50 pc

Mumbai, Dec 26 (UNI) Interbank call rates rose by over a 100 bps as it ended the day at 11.00-11.50 per cent compared to its preceding session's close of 9.75-10.00 per cent, dealers said.

With the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) hike came into implementation this fortnight onwards, banks looked to borrow in huge numbers. As a result, liquidity continued to remain under severe pressure.

The extent of the dwindling cash surpluses was such that the inter bank rates breached the 11 per cent mark during intra day trading, the first time it did so in more than 6 years.

The LAF window saw the central bank accepting 5 bids worth a mere Rs.285 crore at the 1-day reverse repo auction. At the 1-day repo auction, 56 bids summing upto Rs.28,280 crore were received.

The CBLO segement saw 362 bids amounting to Rs.16,158 crore being received in the range of 7.20-10.20 per cent.

Despite tight liquidity, demand levels of the banks are not likely to abate in the near future. Consequently, call rates are expected to remain on the higher side, dealers added.

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