The Federal Reserve will auction another 60 billion dollars in March, continuing its efforts to deal with a severe credit crunch, the U.S. central bank announced Friday.

Two auctions will be held, on March 10 and the 24 , and each will offer 30 billion dollars, the Federal Reserve said in a press release.

Minimum bid rate and other auction details are to be released on the day of each auction, which are set for a shortened time period of only two hours, from 11 a.m to 1 p.m. EDT, the Fed said in a statement.

The central bank began the new auctions in December in hopes that the increased supply of cash would prompt banks to keep lending and combat the adverse effects from a severe credit squeeze.

Posted: 03|1|08 at 12:15 am. Filed under: US News.