{
  "id": 9230549,
  "title": "WACR tops repo rate for first time in nearly 2 months",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/23/wacr-tops-repo-rate-for-first-time-in-nearly-2-months",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-09-23T00:32:12.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Economic Times - Top News",
    "slug": "the-economic-times-top-news",
    "url": "https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/forex/forex-news/wacr-surpasses-repo-rate-for-the-first-time-in-2-months-as-rbi-drains-liquidity/articleshow/134423446.cms"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Mumbai - For the first time in nearly two months, the weighted average call rate (WACR) surpassed the repo rate due to a decrease in liquidity within the banking system, dipping below the ₹5-lakh crore threshold. On Tuesday, WACR stood at 5.31%, an increase from 5.24% on Monday, according to CCIL data. Banking system liquidity reached a surplus of ₹4.91 crores on Monday, having peaked at a multi-year high of ₹11.16 lakh crore earlier in the month. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has implemented multiple operations, including both durable and transient measures, to reduce excess liquidity through open market operations (OMO) sales and variable rate reverse repo (VRRR) auctions. Additional factors, such as GST outflows and weekly government securities (g-sec) auctions, have also contributed to draining excess liquidity. Experts suggest that the RBI may be comfortable with a surplus of ₹3-4 lakh crore, taking into account the need to maintain liquidity at 1% of Net Demand and Time Liabilities (NDTL), as well as the approaching quarter-end, when demand for funds is typically high. The RBI plans to conduct another ₹25,000 crore OMO operation on Monday, while the government will sell ₹32,000 crore of 10-year bonds on Friday, further reducing liquidity. Gaura Sengupta, chief economist at IDFC First Bank, anticipates a slight increase in liquidity by month-end, as government expenditure will inject additional funds into the system, potentially bringing total system liquidity to around ₹5 lakh crore.",
  "summary": "Liquidity in the banking sector has contracted to below ₹5 lakh crore, causing the weighted average call rate to rise to 5.31%. The Reserve Bank of India is undertaking actions to absorb surplus liquidity. With government expenditures and bond sales looming, analysts predict a return to normalcy in liquidity levels, hovering near ₹5 lakh crore by month-end, while the Reserve Bank maintains…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}