ECB monetary operations
On October 19, the European Central Bank announced a seven-day Main Refinancing Operation. The operation was conducted on October 20, and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1.01 billion, almost unchanged from 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 October 21, the ECB conducted the seven-day and 84-day US dollar funding operations through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. The seven-day USD operation attracted bids of $0.04 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.34 per cent. The 84-day USD operation attracted bids of $0.01 billion, also allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.33 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 28-day bills and 91-day bills for settlement value October 22, maturing on November 19 and January 21, 2021, respectively. Bids of €100 million were submitted for the 28-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €15 million, while bids of €110 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €5 million. Since €30 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €10 million, standing at €707.50 million.
The yield from the 28-day bill auction was -0.486 per cent, a decrease of 0.1 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 15, representing a bid price of €100.0378 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.487 per cent, a decrease of 0.3 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 8, representing a bid price of €100.1233 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 28-day bills and 91-day bills maturing on November 26 and January 28, 2021, respectively.