ECB monetary operations
On January 27, the European Central Bank announced a seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on January 28 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1.60 billion, €0.64 billion more 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 January 29, the ECB conducted a three-month, longer-term refinancing operation to be settled as a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with the rate fixed at the average rate of the MROs over the life of the operation. The operation attracted bids of €0.55 billion from euro area eligible counterparties. The amount was allotted in full in accordance with current ECB policy. Also, on January 29, the ECB conducted a seven-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $0.05 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 2.07 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 273-day bills for settlement value January 30, maturing on April 30 and October 29, respectively. Bids of €51 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €18 million, while bids of €35 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €3 million. Since there were no maturities, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €21 million, standing at €365 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.437 per cent, unchanged from bids with a similar tenor issued on January 23, representing a bid price of €100.1106 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.400 per cent, a decrease of 7.6 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 17, 2019, representing a bid price of €100.3043 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 182-day bills maturing on May 7 and August 6, respectively.