The commercial paper market has contracted for the fourth straight week.
Outstanding paper volume fell by $4.4 billion for the week ended Wednesday, and stood at nearly $1.585 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve. The decline occurred in the financial and asset-backed sectors.
The nonfinancial sector recorded an $8.4 billion increase, its strongest showing in four weeks. However, it is the smallest of the three main sectors, accounting for just 13 percent of the overall commercial paper market.
The total commercial paper market is down from $1.82 trillion more than four months ago and its peak of $2.2 trillion during the summer of 2007.