March 25, 2008	Tuesday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1429

KARACHI, March 24: Short-term money rates ended at top levels on Monday amid a lack of cash inflows and banks had to borrow from the central bank’s discount window.

Overnight call rates ended at 10.40 per cent, unchanged from

Saturday’s close, and just below the 10.50 per cent discount rate at which banks borrowed Rs23.582 billion from the State Bank of Pakistan three-day repo facility.

“The market is now waiting for the T-bill (Treasury bill) auction target but rates are likely to remain at top levels,” said a brokerage dealer.

A Treasury bill auction is scheduled for March 26.

Dealers said there were inflows of Rs49 billion from maturing government securities scheduled for March 27, but the impact of that might be offset by the result of the T-bill auction.

The State Bank said it planned to raise Rs20 billion from an auction of long-term government bonds on March 29.

In the currency market, the rupee ended firmer at 62.15/22 to the dollar compared with Saturday’s close of 62.80/85 on increased dollar inflows.

Dealers said the rupee was likely to remain stable in the near-term as inflows of foreign investment and higher remittances from Pakistanis abroad were likely to prevent a sharp decline.

According to central bank data, remittances sent home by overseas Pakistanis jumped 21 per cent to $4.13 billion in the first eight months of the current fiscal year.

The rupee hit 63.11/14 on February 16, its weakest level in more than six years, but started recovering when sentiment was boosted by a generally smooth election on February 18.

—Reuters