RBI buys Rs 10,000 crore via OMOs

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bought Rs 10,000 crore of bonds through its open market operations (OMOs) on Monday. This is the third OMO purchase this financial year and fourth overall. The OMO was done to ease liquidity in the bond market.

Data released by RBI showed the central bank bought bonds maturing in four-14 years at a yield closer to market rates. The yields on the 10-year benchmark bond largely remained unchanged to close at 7.72 per cent after the OMO.

Meanwhile, data also showed the surplus cash balance of the government meant for auction was steadily coming down in the system. It wasn't clear if the total cash balance was coming down or only the amount meant for auction was showing a downtrend. RBI does not publish the actual cash balance of the government. As on February 5, the surplus cash balance was at Rs 55,495 crore, down from about Rs 1.4-1.6 lakh crore in the past few weeks.