The Bank of England, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Swiss National Bank today pumped $254 billion (£145.7 billion) into their wholesale funding markets in the first tenders of unlimited dollar funds aimed at restoring confidence.

The Bank of England released $76.3 billion for seven days at a fixed rate of 2.277 per cent. The ECB injected $170.9 billion into the money market while Switzerland's central bank released $7.1 billion.

In London, interbank dollar lending rates fell slightly lower. Overnight dollar Libor fell from 2.181 per cent to 2.144 per cent, and the three-month figure dropped from 4.635 per cent to 4.55 per cent.

Three-month sterling Libor, the measure used to price mortgages, eased to 6.21 per cent from yeserday's level of 6.249 per cent, though this remains far higher than the UK's 4.5 per cent base rate.

Interbank euro lending rates also fell back. Three-month euro Libor was down from 5.225 per cent yesterday to 5.175 per cent today. The overnight rate was at 3.736 per cent, only marginally lower than yesterday's 3.75 per cent.

On Monday, the Bank of England joined other central banks in announcing that its swap line with the US Federal Reserve had been amended, so that there was no fixed limit to the amount of dollars the Bank could pump into the financial system.

In a statement on Monday, the Bank of England said: "Central banks will continue to work together and are prepared to take whatever measures are necessary to provide sufficient liquidity in short-term funding markets."

Today's action from the central banks comes as European Union leaders gather in Brussels to discuss the next measures to tackle the ongoing crisis. Earlier today Gordon Brown called for member nations to move to "stage two" of efforts to restore confidence in the financial system.

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