KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Short-term interbank rates closed steady today on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) operations to absorb surplus liquidity from the financial system.

Liquidity in the conventional system eased to RM42.24 billion from RM45.59 billion this morning while Islamic funds fell to RM18.90 billion from RM25.77 billion previously.

The central bank had earlier called for four conventional money market tenders and two Qard tenders.

BNM had revised conventional overnight tender from RM40.6 billion to RM41.2 billion.

At 4 pm, it called for a RM41.2 billion conventional money market tender and a RM18.9 billion murabahah money market tender, both for one-day money.

The average Islamic overnight rate stood at 1.72 per cent while the one-, two- and three-week rates stood at 1.78 per cent, 1.82 per cent and 1.85 per cent respectively. — Bernama