ECB Allots $3.702Bln At 7-Day Dlr Swap Op; Below Last Week

The European Central Bank allotted $3.702 billion at its weekly dollar funding operation Wednesday, down from $4.138 billion allotted last week.

The central bank provided the seven-day dollar liquidity to eleven banks at a fixed rate of 0.63%, matching the number of bidders from last week. The ECB does not identify the borrowers, which could be any bank operating in the euro zone with eligible collateral.

Dollars became scarcer in the second half of last year, reflecting rising worries among U.S. banks about the euro zone's sovereign debt crisis. On Nov. 30, the world's major central banks moved in concert to provide cheap dollars to banks after dollar funding stress intensified.

To provide dollar loans, the ECB borrows the equivalent amount from the U.S. Federal Reserve.