ECB monetary operations
On October 5, the European Central Bank announced a seven-day Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on October 6 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1.17 billion, €0.05 billion lower 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 October 7, the ECB conducted the Pandemic Emergency Longer-term Refinancing Operation (PELTRO) maturing on August 26, 2021, which attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1.01 billion. This operation was carried out through a fixed rate tender procedure with full allotment, with an interest rate that is equal to 25 basis points below the average MRO rate over the life of the PELTRO.
Also on October 7, the ECB conducted the seven-day and 70-day US dollar funding operations through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. The seven-day USD operation attracted bids of $0.06 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 0.33 per cent. The 70-day USD operation attracted bids of $0.20 billion, allotted in full also 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 8, maturing on November 5, 2020 and January 7, 2021, respectively. Bids of €100 million were submitted for the 28-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €15 million, while bids of €120 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €13 million. Since €38 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €10 million, standing at €737.50 million.
The yield from the 28-day bill auction was -0.485 per cent, a decrease of 6.6 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on November 28, 2019, representing a bid price of €100.0377 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.484 per cent, an increase of 0.1 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 1, representing a bid price of €100.1225 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 182-day bills maturing on November 12, 2020, and April 15, 2021, respectively.