The increase in dollar funding costs in March might have been exacerbated by structural changes since the global financial crisis, says research from the International Monetary Fund.

The cross-currency basis, a popular measure for US dollar funding costs, widened on average by roughly 55 basis points in March compared with early January. This was below the average observed during the 2008 financial crisis, which was above 100 basis points.

But for some currencies, such as the Canadian and Hong