US banks borrowed a record $367.8 billion (£208 billion) a day from the Federal Reserve in the week ended October 1.

Data from the US central bank shows how much financial institutions are relying on the Fed in its role as lender of last resort as short-term funding becomes almost impossible to find elsewhere.

Banks' discount window borrowings averaged $367.80 billion per day in the week ended October 1, nearly double the previous record daily average of $187.75 billion last week.

With interbank lending and commercial paper markets near paralysis, and a $700 billion bailout package still not cleared by the US House of Representatives, it has become increasingly difficult for banks to borrow from anywhere else.

Primary credit borrowings also hit a record high of $44.46 billion per day in the latest week, up from $39.36 billion the previous week.

Primary dealers and other broker dealers' credit borrowings were $146.57 billion as of Wednesday October 1, up from $105.66 billion in the week to September 24.

Loans in the "other credit extensions" category, including loans to the stricken insurer AIG, were $61.28 billion as at October 1, against $44.57 billion on September 24.

Michael Feroli, economist at JPMorgan in New York, said: "Each time it gets more and more stunning. You're just seeing huge increases across the board. It tells you that the paralysis is massive."

The Fed’s asset-backed commercial paper money market mutual fund liquidity facility, designed to help money market funds meet escalating demands for redemptions from investors, more than doubled to $152.1 billion as at October 1, from $72.67 billion on September 24.

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