And we are starting to see some effect. Some interest-  -6rate-sensitive sectors of the economy have begun to cool. The housing market had overheated to unsustainable levels early in the pandemic due to low supply, increased demand for larger homes and low mortgage rates. With higher rates now constraining borrowing, the sector has cooled.
The ORR resulted, however, in excess rupee liquidity in the domestic money market and the Bank had to conduct open market operations to mop up the surplus. We had to complement the issue of Government securities with our own paper which reached a record level of almost Rs19 billion. This came with a cost and weighed heavily on the Bank’s balance sheet.