Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN)– The call money rate eased slightly on Sunday, first working day after the Eid-ul-Azha festival, as the central bank injected a substantial amount of fresh fund into the market.
The inter-bank call rate ranged between 15 per cent and 25 per cent on the day against 6.50-28.00 per cent of the previous working day. However, most of the deals were settled at rates varying between 20 per cent and 22 per cent, market operators said.
“The call money rate eased slightly on the day following the central bank’s injection of fresh funds into the market to keep it stable,” a senior treasury official of a leading private commercial bank said.
The central bank has continued providing liquidity support to the banks and non-banking financial institutions (NBFIs) to ease the cash money demand in the market.
As part of the move, Bangladesh Bank (BB) injected fresh funds worth BDT 55.8490 billion at 5.50 percent on Sunday through auction of repurchase agreement (repo) and special liquidity support to the primary dealers (PDs).
The central bank of Bangladesh earlier selected 15 PDs – 12 banks and three NBFIs – to handle government securities in the secondary market.
“Such liquidity support will continue in line with the market requirement,” a BB senior official told BBN in Dhaka, adding that the central bank is monitoring the overall market closely to keep call money rate stable.
On Monday last, the BB injected funds worth BDT 53.5173 billion using the same mechanisms, the central bank officials confirmed.
“The call rate may ease gradually after increase in flow of liquidity in the banking system,” the treasury official said, adding that the flow of liquidity may increase shortly due to refund of the cash, which was withdrawn before the Eid festival, in the banking system.
BBN/SI/AD-22Nov10-10:04 am (BST)
