Central Bank sells 3.5 bln rubles in OFZ bonds from portfolio in Sept
MOSCOW. Aug 25 (Interfax) - The Central Bank of Russia sold 3.456 billion rubles in federal loan bonds (OFZ) from its portfolio on the secondary market in September, the regulator said in a press release.
The Central Bank began selling OFZ from its portfolio in April to absorb the excess liquidity that results from using Reserve Fund money to finance the budget deficit. It sold OFZ totaling 131 billion rubles in the second quarter, the bulk of it from late April through early May.
A total of 35.847 billion rubles in OFZ bonds held by the Central Bank was redeemed in January-September. In September the bank added 11.379 billion rubles in OFZ to its portfolio after lending organizations failed to honor refinancing operations.
The Central Bank will continue to sell OFZ from its portfolio, which contained 69.334 billion rubles worth of this paper as of October 1.