U.S. BANK DISCOUNT BORROWINGS 228 MLN DLRS
U.S. bank discount window borrowings
less extended credits averaged 228 mln dlrs in the week to
Wednesday March 18, the Federal Reserve said.
    Total borrowings in the week rose 83 mln dlrs to 502 mln
dlrs, with extended credits up three mln dlrs at 274 mln dlrs.
The week was the first half of a two-week statement period. Net
borrowing in the prior week averaged 148 mln dlrs.
    Commenting on the two-week statement period that ended on
March 11, the Fed estimated that banks had daily average net
free reserves of 759 mln dlrs rather than the 660 mln dlrs
first reported.
    A Fed spokesman told a press briefing that there were no
large single day net misses in the Fed's reserve projections in
the first week of the latest bank statement period.
    None of the 14 large money center banks borrowed from the
discount window during the week and all of the Wednesday
borrowing was made by the smallest banks. For the week as a
whole, the borrowing was split roughly evenly between the large
regionals and the small banks.
    Natural float ranged from a low of near zero on Thursday --
for which the Fed spokesman could give no particular reason --
to a high of nearly 750 mln dlrs on Tuesday.
    The Tuesday peak included about 100 mln dlrs of
transportation float in mid- and south-Atlantic states. Noting
that the weather was "basically good" for March, the spokesman
said that transportation float averaged under 500 mln dlrs a
day for the full week.
    Float related as-ofs were a negative 400 mln dlrs on
Wenesday due to a number of unrelated cash letter error
corrections in five districts.
    As-ofs peaked at just over 500 mln dlrs on Tuesday.
 Reuter
