More Stories

Informist, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026

 

By Kabir Sharma

 

MUMBAI – The four-day interbank call money rate ended near the Reserve Bank of India's repo rate of 5.25% Thursday due to demand for funds in the last leg of trade, dealers said. "There was very low demand throughout the day, a couple of deals at the end took the rates higher, but the broader market was calm," a dealer at a state-owned bank said. India's financial markets will remain shut Friday for Gandhi Jayanti.

 

The four-day call rate ended at 5.20%, up from 5.05% at the open and from 4.85% at the close Wednesday. The weighted average call rate was 5.12%, down from 5.22% Wednesday. The volume in the four-day call money contract was INR 125.22 billion, down from INR 103.54 billion Wednesday.

 

The four-day tri-party repo rate ended at 5.04% Thursday, from 5.05% at the open and 5.15% at the close Wednesday for one-day loans. The weighted average rate was at 5.14%, up from 5.07% Wednesday. Volume in the four-day contract was INR 5.31 trillion, higher than INR 4.79 trillion Wednesday.

 

High liquidity surplus in the banking system kept rates in the money market in check, dealers said. The RBI's net liquidity absorbed – a proxy for the banking system liquidity surplus – rose to INR 4.85 trillion Wednesday from INR 4.66 trillion Tuesday. Traders attributed the rise to the government's month-end spending, even as the RBI's foreign exchange operations were consistently draining rupee liquidity, dealers said. 

 

Data released Thursday showed the net durable liquidity surplus climbed to a record high of INR 13.94 trillion as on Sept. 15. The central bank began releasing data on the fortnightly metric only in February 2020 and the previous record was INR 12 trillion in September 2021. As of Aug. 31, the liquidity surplus was INR 10.66 trillion. Traders attributed the rise to the RBI's special schemes to attract foreign capital. Foreign currency non-resident (banks) deposits alone brought in $133 billion of inflows between Jun. 8 and Aug. 31 and the RBI's special window to swap the dollar amount into rupees was open till Sept. 11.

 

OUTLOOK

Saturday, the two-day call money rate is seen near the RBI's Standing Deposit Facility rate of 5.00% in thin trade, as is usually seen on Saturdays. Government spending is likely to infuse more liquidity into the banking system over the next few sessions, which may drag overnight money market rate, dealers said. They expect the two-day call rate to be at 4.50–5.30% Saturday, while the two-day tri-party repo rate is seen at 4.50-5.25%.

 

CALL RATE

5.20%--Thursday close for four-day loans

5.05%--Thursday open for four-day loans

4.85%--Wednesday close for one-day loans

 

BENCHMARK MIBOR (in %)

Mumbai Interbank Outright Rates compiled by Financial Benchmarks India Ltd.:

 

TENURE	THURSDAY	WEDNESDAY
Overnight	5.10	5.28
3-day	--	--
14-day	5.75	5.79
1-month	5.92	5.92
3-month	6.35	6.35

---

India Call: Near SDF rate on ample liquidity to meet PDs' early fund needs

 

--RBI data: Net durable liquidity surplus INR 13.94 tln Sept 15, record high 

 

By Aaryan Khanna

 

NEW DELHI – The four-day interbank call money rate was near the Reserve Bank of India's Standing Deposit Facility rate of 5.00% Thursday due to ample surplus liquidity in the banking system, dealers said. Call money was not traded until nearly 0950 IST as banks were not keen to lend to primary dealers at low rates. India's financial markets will remain shut Friday for Gandhi Jayanti.

 

"It's the beginning of the new quarter, liquidity is comfortable, so people should park more at the VRRR also," a dealer at a state-owned bank said. "Even yesterday there was hardly any borrowing pressure as corporates had taken disbursements on Thursday and Friday itself due to the strike, so everyone can excess cash on their books."

 

Bank unions had called for a strike Mon-Wed before cancelling it late Sunday. Banks had prepared for a disruption in operations at the quarter-end and secured their funding last week, as had large corporate customers, dealers said. With the comfort on meeting their cash needs and overnight rates low, banks parked INR 1.68 trillion at the RBI's four-day, INR-2.00-trillion variable rate reverse repo auction. 

 

At 1030 IST, the four-day call rate was at 5.10%, up from 5.05% at the open and from 4.85% at the close for one-day loans Wednesday. The weighted average call rate was 5.08%, down from 5.22% Wednesday. The volume in the four-day call money contract was INR 23.45 billion, lower than INR 31.33 billion for one-day loans at the same time Wednesday.

 

The four-day tri-party repo rate was at 4.98% at 1030 IST, down from 5.05% at the open and 5.15% at Wednesday's close for one-day loans. The weighted average rate was at 5.00%, against 5.07% Wednesday. Volume in the four-day contract was INR 2.80 trillion, higher than INR 1.89 trillion on the most-traded contract at 1030 IST Wednesday.

 

The RBI's net liquidity absorbed – a proxy for the banking system liquidity surplus – rose to INR 4.85 trillion Wednesday from INR 4.66 trillion Tuesday. Traders attributed the rise to the government's month-end spending, even as the RBI's foreign exchange operations were consistently draining rupee liquidity, dealers said. 

 

Meanwhile, data released Thursday showed the net durable liquidity surplus climbed to a record high of INR 13.94 trillion as on Sept. 15. The central bank began releasing data on the fortnightly metric only in February 2020 and the previous record was INR 12 trillion in September 2021. As of Aug. 31, the liquidity surplus was INR 10.66 trillion. Traders attributed the rise to the RBI's special schemes to attract foreign capital. Foreign currency non-resident (banks) deposits alone brought in $133 billion of inflows between Jun. 8 and Aug. 31 and the RBI's special window to swap the dollar amount into rupees was open till Sept. 11.

 

End

 

Edited by Shubhayan Bhattacharya

 

For users of real-time market data terminals, Informist news is available exclusively on the NSE Cogencis WorkStation.

 

Cogencis news is now Informist news. This follows the acquisition of Cogencis Information Services Ltd. by NSE Data & Analytics Ltd., a 100% subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. As a part of the transaction, the news department of Cogencis has been sold to Informist Media Pvt. Ltd.

 

Informist Media Tel +91 (22) 6985-4000

Send comments to feedback@informistmedia.com

 

© Informist Media Pvt. Ltd. 2026. All rights reserved.