On May 13, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on May 14, and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €5.40 billion, €0.01 billion higher 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 15, 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 $0.02 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 2.87 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 90-day and 182-day bills for settlement value May 16, maturing on August 14, and November 14, respectively. Bids of €51 million were submitted for the 90-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €21 million, while bids of €50 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €2 million. Since €23 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills remained unchanged at €323.70 million.
The yield from the 90-day bill auction was -0.352 per cent, an increase of 0.1 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on May 9, representing a bid price of €100.0881 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.314 per cent, a decrease of 0.4 basis point from bids with a similar tenor also issued on May 9, representing a bid price of €100.1590 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 maturing on August 22.