Call likely to open strong

Call rates traded around 6.40-6.50% for most part of the week before closing at 7.40-7.60%, substantially higher from their last close of 6.40-6.50%.

Half-year end requirements in addition to the reporting day demand kept the borrowings high, thus pressurising the call rates to trade firm at levels as high as 8%. The average daily subscriptions at the reverse repo auction rose to Rs 14,698 crore from Rs 8,869 crore in the previous week.

Subscriptions at the repo auction stood at Rs 5,010 with 14 bids accepted only on Friday while no bids were accepted by the RBI under the repo auction during the previous week. Call rates are expected to trade with an upward bias at the start of the next session, but are likely to soften gradually.