U.S. interbank lending continued to show signs of thawing on Friday with the three-month Libor taking an 8bp fall to 1.92%, the lowest level since September 2004.
Meanwhile, the overnight U.S. Dollar Libor was little changed at 0.18%.
The Libor/OIS spread fell 6 bps to 167 bps, its lowest since Nov. 13, and the Ted spread fell 8 bps to 191 bps.
The data comes ahead of what will look like a difficult day for the United States after the Senate threw out the auto bailout legislation for GM, Ford and Chrysler.
In Asia-Pacific, the Japanese Nikkei closed 5.56% lower, the Sang Heng closed 5.48% lower, and the Australian ASX was down 2.43%.
Meanwhile in Europe, the Euro Stoxx is down 5.19%, the FTSE 100 is down 4.07%, and S&P 500 futures are pointing to a 3.92% decline at the open.
By Erik Kevin Franco and edited by Nancy Girgis
©CEP News Ltd. 2008