Friday, August 17, 2007

Australia Injects More Cash Into Bank Sector

Source : Channel NewsAsia, 17 August 2007

Picture : Glenn Stevens, Governor of Reserve Bank of Australia

SYDNEY - Australia's central bank on Friday injected a larger than usual A$3.87 billion (US$3.06b) into the banking system as fears of a credit crunch jolted global markets.

The Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) revealed in data that the cash it pumped into the system on a short-term basis was well above its average daily injection for the year of A$1.9 billion.

The bank injected another A$3.04 billion into the banking system on Thursday as central banks around the world scrambled to boost liquidity and ease fears of a credit crunch spawned by the US sub-prime mortgage market crisis.

Australian stocks plunged a breathtaking five percent during Thursday's trade but managed to claw back some losses to close 1.3 percent lower.

Australian stocks were however barely changed from Thursday's close, with the benchmark SP/ASX200 index up 0.43 percent or 24.6 points at 5736.1 while the broader All Ordinaries was up 0.29 percent or 16.7 points at 5708.9. - AFP/ir

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