Commercial Paper 81+ Days Maturity Jumps To $38.2 Billion Monday - Fed

The amount of commercial paper maturing in 81 days or more jumped to $38.2 billion on Monday, according to Federal Reserve data released Tuesday.

That happened in a week when three-month debt extended by the central bank directly to U.S. companies is beginning to mature. Market participants hope to see a decline in the bank's holdings in its Commercial Paper Funding Facility as that would signal companies are able to meet their funding needs through investors.

On Friday, the level outstanding of commercial paper in the 81 days or more category was $6.03 billion.

Companies rely on this market for their short-term funding needs like rent and payroll.

Approximately $125 billion worth of three-month financing provided through the Fed's program comes due this week, according to Wrightson ICAPestimates.

The Fed held $242.43 billion of top-rated commercial paper in the facility as of last week, down from about $334 billion at the end of 2008.

The facility was set up after the $1.47 trillion commercial-paper market froze last year when investors, primarily money-market funds, fled as they feared redemptions from investors.

-By Anusha Shrivastava, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-2371; [e-mail]