Dollar interbank lending rates held near four-year lows in Asia on Friday as credit conditions returned to normal after repeated liquidity injections and interest rate cuts by central banks around the world.
But some analysts were still caution that investors may turn jittery again as major developed countries sink deeper in recession, hitting Asia's export-dependent economies.
The worst of the credit crisis came after the high-profit the collapse of the Lehman Brother in September, which drove up overnight dollar funding costs to 10 percent in Asia. Three-month dollar funds traded in Singapore edged up to 1.475 percent on Friday from 1.469 percent on Wednesday, when it hit its lowest level since mid 2004. The market was closed on Thursday for Christmas.
Rates on overnight dollar funds in Singapore inched up to 0.1495 percent from 0.1386 percent on Wednesday although a trader in Singapore said most trades were done near 0.05 percent. Two-year dollar swap spreads were quoted at 67.25 basis points, half a basis point wider from late US trade Wednesday but holding near its tightest levels in 11 months.
The two-year US swap spread - a gauge of counterparty risk and thus financial system stress - has now shrunk almost 40 basis points since the Fed slashed rates to virtually zero last week and said it would boost its balance sheet to help the economy.
South Korea's three-month certificate of deposit rates eased 1 basis points to 3.97 percent, and the spread over three-month government bills was steady at 120 bps - down from a record of 172 bps hit less than two weeks ago. China's benchmark money market rate, the weighted average seven-day repo rate, eased to 1.2000 percent on Friday from Thursday's close of 1.2215 percent.
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