ECB Monetary Operations
On May 4, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced a seven-day Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on May 5 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €0.35 billion, €0.08 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 May 5, the ECB conducted the Additional Longer-term Refinancing Operation maturing on the June 24, which attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €14.28 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 May 6, 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 $1.80 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.29 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 four operations attracted bids of a total of $4.22 billion, at the rates of 0.29 per cent and 0.30 per cent.
Domestic Treasury Bill Market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills and 364-day bills for settlement value May 7, maturing on August 6 and May 6, 2021, respectively. Bids of €10 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting all bids, while bids of €105 million were submitted for the 364-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €40 million. Since €30 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €20 million, standing at €682 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.219 per cent, an increase of 0.2 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on April 30, representing a bid price of €100.0554 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 364-day bill auction was -0.113 per cent, an increase of 2.2 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on April 23, representing a bid price of €100.1144 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 August 13, and November 12, respectively.