The European Central Bank said Thursday that its most recent one-day tender had allowed it to withdraw 150 billion euros (215 billion dollars) from eurozone money markets. On Wednesday, the ECB carried out a similar operation, siphoning off more than 133 billion euros as it took care to mop up surplus liquidity to avoid fuelling inflation.
The bank is trying to keep very short term rates near its benchmark minimum bid rate, which currently stands at 4.0 percent, a statement said. Thursday's action attracted bids from 58 banks worth almost 166 billion euros at a fixed rate of 4.0 percent.
On Tuesday, the ECB pumped almost 350 billion euros into the markets for two weeks, its biggest single cash injection ever, to help commercial banks make it through a crunch period at the end of the year.
By supplying such a massive amount at a generous rate of 4.21 percent, the bank aimed to reassure banks they will have ample cash on hand to meet minimum deposit requirements and ease interbank lending on markets that have gotten clogged up by fears over the collapse of the US subprime home loan market.
Banks are unsure if counterparts are heavily exposed to losses in the US market for high-risk mortgages and are therefore wary of lending to each other, choking off the credit on which business depends. The operation on Tuesday helped ease tension on the markets and interbank rates that have been stuck at high levels since August fell back as a result.
On Thursday, the Euribor (Euro Interbank Offered Rate) level in London for one-month lending stood at 4.523 percent, while the three-month rate was 4.790 percent. Those levels compared with 4.564 percent and 4.812 percent respectively on Wednesday.
Short-term withdrawals by the ECB, operations that typically last no more than one or two days, are designed to ensure that any excess cash is mopped up. The bank said Thursday it "stands ready to steer liquidity towards more balanced conditions."
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