ECB monetary operations

On August 30, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on August 31 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €16 million, €96 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 September 1, 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 $223.50 million, which was 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 91-day bills and 182-day bills for settlement value September 2, maturing on December 2 and March 3, 2022, respectively. Bids of €34 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €31 million, while bids of €30 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €8 million. Since €36 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €3 million, standing at €774 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.395 per cent, increasing by 0.3 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on August 26, representing a bid price of €100.0999 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.378 per cent, increasing by 0.4 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on August 26, representing a bid price of €100.1915 per €100 nominal.

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

Yesterday, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on December 9 and March 10, 2022, respectively.