The ECB's forecasts 'show that a large positive liquidity imbalance is expected' on the last day of period during which commercial banks must maintain minimum reserves.

The central bank would thus launch a call for the surplus to be deposited with it at variable rates of no more than 3.75 per cent. It said it would take in all the excess cash that banks wished to turn in.

Central banks have injected massive amounts of cash into interbank markets to encourage commercial banks to keep extending the credit on which business depends.

When it identifies a surplus, it withdraws cash to prevent an excessive supply from fuelling inflation.

Money markets determine the availability of credit for vast numbers of people around the globe, from managers trying to fund their businesses to families and students seeking mortgages and personal loans. -- AFP