Call Rates Ease To 4 Per Cent
MONEY MARKET REPORT
Call rates eased further in the inter-bank money market yesterday to close at 3.75 to 4.0 per cent. Trading remained dull as liquidity continued to remain ample in the system. The rates opened at 5.0 per cent, but kept falling as supplies remained good.
A dealer with a private bank said that the Reserve Bank of India, which had conducted some buy-sell swaps in the forward segment of the forex market, made the rupee payments for its purchases yesterday. This has resulted in some inflows of rupees into the banking, system causing rates to slip in the course of the day.
Dealers feel that the buyers are waiting for the announcement of the budget before coming into the market. At present, a lot of uncertainty prevails regarding the movement of interest rates and security prices. Prices of securities are moving only within a limited range. On account of this uncertainty, banks are holding on to their securities.
Most of the interest was expressed in the 91-day treasury bills. The T-Bills maturing in April saw trading volumes of Rs 49 crore for over Rs 98.5 at 7.5 per cent. The bills maturing in May saw trading volumes of Rs 30 crore for Rs 98.3.