RBI buys government bonds worth Rs 6,157 crore via OMO route

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) purchased Rs 6,156.74 crore of government bonds through an open market operation (OMO) auction on Monday, less than the notified amount of Rs 8,000 crore.

Last week, RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan had said the apex bank planned to purchase Rs 8,000 crore of government bonds through OMOs to aid liquidity.

The RBI offered to buy 7.17 per cent 2015 gilts, 7.59 per cent 2016, 7.83 per cent 2018 and 8.20 per cent 2025 gilts in the auction, which was conducted after over a month.

Market participants offered to sell gilts, of the four types, worth Rs 13,765.94 crore.

The apex bank received 81 bids worth Rs 4,028.78 crore for the 8.20 per cent 2025 gilt and accepted 37 bids worth Rs 1,041.11 crore at a cut-off yield of 9.1552 per cent.

For the 7.17 per cent 2015 gilt, the RBI received 78 bids worth Rs 5,650.38 crore and accepted 55 bids worth Rs 3,732.98 crore at a cut-off yield of 8.4963 per cent.

For the 7.83 per cent 2018 government bond, the RBI got 27 bids worth Rs 1,981.94 crore and bought 11 bids worth Rs 382.05 crore.

The RBI received the lowest number of bids for the 7.59 per cent 2016 gilt. It got 16 bids worth Rs 2,104.84 crore for this gilt and accepted three bids worth Rs 1,000.6 crore.

So far in this financial year, the RBI has bought over Rs 500 billion worth of government bonds through open market operations.

Market participants expect the RBI to continue with OMO auctions to infuse liquidity into the banking system.