Overnight rates opened around 14.25-14.50 per cent in the morning but slipped later. Most of the deals were done around 14-14.25 per cent.
"Some stray deals were done at 13.75 per cent," said a dealer.
"As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) kept the cut-off rate for repos unchanged, call rates hovered around the 14-per cent mark," said the treasury head at a private sector bank. "However, there was enough liquidity in the market and that kept call rates range-bound," he continued.
A dealer with a foreign bank said, "Many banks have covered their positions before the reporting Friday and that kept the demand low in the overnight market."
The apex bank has mopped up Rs 5,000 crore through one-day repo at a cut-off rate of 14.5 per cent and Rs 4,090 crore through the five-day repo at a cut-off rate of 15 per cent.
The government security market continued to be dull yesterday with trades mainly concentrated at the short and medium-end. Gilt prices fell, tracking the weak rupee. "It fell by 15-20 paise at the end in comparison to the morning level," said a dealer with a nationalised bank. The 12.5 per cent paper maturing in 2004 was the most-traded security.
Call rates continued to be stable in the last two days ahead of the reporting Friday. "We do not expect RBI to slash the repo rate. On the other hand, the demand will also continue to be thin," said a dealer.
"These factors will keep the call rate around 14 per cent till Friday," he pointed out.
Trades in government security papers will remain dull. Dealers expect that there may be some 5-10 paise movement in either direction over the next two days.
