FRANKFURT: Key euro-priced bank-to-bank lending rates rose on Tuesday, boosted by an expected interest rate rise from the European Central Bank next week.
Despite the disasters in Japan and the surge in tensions in parts of the Middle East, recent ECB policymaker comments have cemented expectations that the bank will raise rates, which have been frozen at a record low 1 percent since May 2009, in April.
The expectations are keeping upward pressure on market rates. The three-month Euribor rate -- traditionally the main gauge of unsecured interbank euro lending and a mix of interest rate expectations and banks' appetite for lending -- rose to a new long-term high of 1.219 percent from 1.210 percent.
Six-month rates rose to 1.531 percent from 1.521 percent, longer-term 12-month rates climbed to 1.980 percent from 1.971 percent and shorter-term one-week rates edged up to 0.813 percent from 0.808 percent.
EONIA overnight interest rates fixed lower at 0.622 percent on Monday.
Excess liquidity in money market increased to around 21 billion euros according to Reuters calculations. Banks also took 100 billion euros in the ECB's weekly handout of 7-day funding on Tuesday, up from 89 billion a week ago.
The central bank left euro zone interest rates on hold at a record low 1 percent earlier this month but flagged plans to raise them next month, wrongfooting markets which until then had expected the first rise much later in the year.
The ECB also left all its liquidity operations at full allotment for at least another three months, putting its exit strategy from stimulus measures on hold for the second quarter running.
A euro zone central bank source told Reuters on Saturday that the ECB was putting the finishing touches on a new facility to ensure troubled banks have access to medium-term liquidity.
The move could help the ECB to return its regular lending operations back to their pre-crisis auction style and wind down its policy of providing banks with all the cash they request.
It is already back to its pre-crisis range of funding. Three-month loans are once again the longest maturity on offer and banks have now paid back all the six-month and 12-month loans the ECB injected during the turmoil.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.