Commercial Paper Falls for First Time in Three Months, Fed Says

The market for corporate borrowing through commercial paper contracted for the first time in three months, led by a drop in issuance from financial institutions.

The seasonally adjusted amount of U.S. commercial paper fell $7.3 billion to $1.126 trillion outstanding in the week ended yesterday after 12 straight weeks of expansion, the Federal Reserve said today on its website. That was the first decrease since the period ended Oct. 24 for the market, which declined after reaching the highest level since August 2011 in the prior week.

Commercial paper issued by U.S.-based banks fell for the first time in five weeks, decreasing $8.2 billion to $331.7 billion outstanding, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Corporations sell commercial paper, typically maturing in 270 days or less, to fund everyday activities such as rent and salaries.

To contact the reporter on this story: John Parry in New York at jparry5@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Alan Goldstein at agoldstein5@bloomberg.net