ECB monetary operations

On March 30, the European Central Bank announced a seven-day Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on March 31 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €0.44 billion, €0.61 billion less than the bid amount of the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of zero per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.

On March 31, the ECB conducted the Additional Longer-term Refinancing Operation maturing on the June 24, which attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €43.71 billion. This operation was carried out through a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with an interest rate that is equal to the average deposit facility rate during the life of the operation.

On April 1, the ECB conducted the 84-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $16.47 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.32 per cent.

On a daily basis, the ECB conducted the seven-day US dollar funding operations through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. The five operations attracted bids of a total of $17.54 billion, with the rate ranging between 0.32 and 0.33 per cent.

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills for settlement value April 2, maturing on July 2 and October 1, respectively. Bids of €60 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting all bids, while bids of €60 million were also submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €40 million. Since €26 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €74 million, standing at €501 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.363 per cent, an increase of 3.2 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 26, representing a bid price of €100.0918 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.314 per cent, an increase of 9.6 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 18, representing a bid price of €100.1590 per €100 nominal.

During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day bills and 364-day bills maturing on July 9, 2020, and April 8, 2021, respectively.