U.S. fed funds rate falls for first time since August

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A key gauge on U.S. interbank borrowing costs fell for the first time since August on Friday as trading volume rose to its highest level in over a month, implying less strain in money markets, New York Federal Reserve data released on Monday showed.

The "effective," or average, interest rate on what banks charge each other to borrow excess reserves was 2.19 percent on Friday, down from 2.20 percent the day before. This was the first decline on this rate, which the Federal Reserve controls to conduct monetary policy, since Aug. 31, according to New York Fed data.

(Reporting by Richard Leong; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

You May Also Be Interested In

• White House forms committee to probe Fed Governor Lisa Cook - Bloomberg
• Citadel's Rubner sees stronger setup for US stocks in Q4
• US Treasury market interventions show mixed results