US commercial paper outstanding falls in week-Fed

NEW YORK Aug 13 (Reuters) - The U.S. commercial paper market contracted in the latest week as the impact of the global credit crisis and the economic downturn took a toll, Federal Reserve data showed on Thursday.

For the week ended Aug. 12, the size of the U.S. commercial paper market, a vital source of short-term funding for daily operations at many companies, fell by $1.8 billion to about $1.075 trillion, from $1.076 trillion the previous week.

Asset-backed commercial paper outstanding fell $12.3 billion after falling $3.0 billion the previous week.

Unsecured financial issuance outstanding rose $12.1 billion after falling $400 million the previous week.

The overall U.S. commercial paper market peaked at about $2.2 trillion outstanding in August 2007 when the credit crisis broke out. (Reporting by Dena Aubin; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)