NEW YORK: The US Federal Reserve awarded $94.739 billion in reverse repurchase agreements on Monday after it increased the maximum amount banks, money market funds and other participants can bid for them, the New York Federal Reserve said.

This was slightly lower than the $95.224 billion the central bank awarded on Friday.

Late Friday, the New York Fed said the reverse repo limit for each participant will be raised to $10 billion per day, starting Monday, from a daily cap of $7 billion.

Fifty-one qualified participants submitted bids for Fed's overnight reverse repos, compared with the 54 bidders on Friday, the New York Fed said on its website.

The Fed has ramped up testing of its reverse repo program which it created to help achieve its interest rate target when it decides to move away from its current near-zero rate policy.

In a reverse repo, banks, money funds and government sponsored mortgage enterprises lend to the Fed at an interest rate, currently at 0.05 percent.

The Fed pledges Treasuries securities it owns as collateral for the loans. It aims to maintain its rate target by reducing the amount of cash in the financial system.