ECB monetary operations
On July 5, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on July 6 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €72 million, €13 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 July 7, 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 $121.70 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.35 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills and 273-day bills for settlement value July 8, maturing on October 7, 2021 and April 7, 2022, respectively. Bids of €95 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €45 million, while bids of €100 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €25 million. Since €50 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €20 million, standing at €806.75 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.453 per cent, unchanged from bids with a similar tenor issued on July 1, representing a bid price of €100.1146 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.450 per cent, up by 1.1 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on June 3, representing a bid price of €100.3424 per €100 nominal.
During this week, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange. Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on October 14 and January 13, 2022, respectively.