HYDERABAD: The RBI on Thursday extended its earlier order, trimming the timings for currency, money and bond markets by four hours, till April, 30. Timings for the money market along with some other financial markets have been reduced by nearly half to 10 am to 2 pm, from the earlier 9 am to 5 pm.
The move comes days after the central government announced the lockdown extension till May, 3. RBI's order does not cover the last three days of the lockdown as they are already marked as bank holidays.
Earlier this month, RBI had notified the change in timing to be applicable till April, 17 citing challenges faced by its staff, brokerages and other market participants.
"In view of the Government of India’s order that the lockdown will continue to be in force till May 3, 2020 (Sunday), it has been decided that the amended trading hours for various RBI regulated markets will continue to be effective till the close of business on Thursday April 30, 2020,” the central bank said in
a statement.
In its order dated April 3, RBI had said the move was to minimise risk and ensure that market participants maintain adequate checks and supervisory control while optimising thin resources and ensuring the safety of personnel, it has been decided to revise the trading hours.
The various RBI-regulated markets where these changes apply include, market repo in government securities, tri-party repo in government securities, commercial paper, certificate of deposits, corporate bonds, government securities, foreign currency and rupee interest rate derivatives.