ECB monetary operations
On May 25, the European Central Bank announced a seven-day Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on May 26 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €0.45bn, €0.27bn 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 26, the ECB conducted the additional longer-term refinancing operation maturing on June 24, which attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €18.54bn. 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 27, the ECB conducted a three-month, longer-term refinancing operation to be settled as a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with the rate fixed at the average MRO rate over the life of the operation. The operation attracted bids of €0.57bn from euro area eligible counterparties. The amount was allotted in full in accordance with current ECB policy.
Also on May 27, the ECB conducted an 84-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $1.51bn, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.30 per cent.
During the week under review, the ECB conducted four seven-day US dollar funding operations through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. These operations attracted total bids of $0.06bn, at the rates of 0.30 and 0.31 per cent.
Domestic Treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 273-day bills for settlement value on May 28, maturing on August 27, 2020 and February 5, 2021, respectively. Bids of €111m were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €40m, while bids of €136m were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €20m. Since €15m worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €45m, standing at €814m. The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.254 per cent, a decrease of 1.9 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on May 21, representing a bid price of €100.0642 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.215 per cent, an increase of 2.3 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on March 26, representing a bid price of €100.1633 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the MSE. Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on September 3 and December 3, respectively.