Forex up by 371 m

The government first resorted to short-term borrowings during the current fiscal when it raised Rs 408 crore during the week ended February 13, 1998.RBI restricts the average half-yearly borrowing of the government through WMA to Rs 10,000 crore. While Rs 12,000 crore has been fixed for the first half, Rs 8,000 crore has been fixed for the second half. The government8217;s resort to WMA has however been well below the stipulated average during the current fiscal.

The interest rates for such borrowings is pegged at 300 basis points lower than the calculated rate which is the average implicit yield at the cut-off prices of the 91-day treasury bills held in the previous quarter.

Money supply during the fortnight ended February 27, 1998 went up by Rs 4,306 crore 0.5 per cent to Rs 7,89,296 crore. While currency with the public went down by Rs 2,599 crore, demand deposits with banks increased by 1,523 crore. Time deposits with banks also increased by Rs 5,641 crore during the same period.