ECB monetary operations

On December 6, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on December 7 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €195 million, €5 million less than 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 December 8, the ECB conducted the seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal

Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $220 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.34 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 December 9, maturing on March 10 and June 9, 2022, respectively. Bids of €53 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €20 million, while bids of €49 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €5 million. Since €35 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €10 million, standing at €629.72 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.418 per cent, decreasing by 0.9 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 2, representing a bid price of €100.1058 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.437 per cent, increasing by 2.7 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 28, representing a bid price of €100.2214 per €100 nominal.

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

Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day bills maturing on March 17, 2022.

The report was prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.