ECB Monetary Operations
On August 5, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on August 6 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €3.38 billion, €0.22 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 August 7, 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 $0.04 billion, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 2.63 per cent.
Domestic Treasury Bill Market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills for settlement value on August 8, maturing on November 7, 2019. Bids of €60 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €18 million. Since €15 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €3 million, at €314.80m.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.369 per cent, a decrease of 0.4 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on August 1, representing a bid price of €100.0934 per €100 nominal. During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Yesterday, the Treasury invited tenders for 92-day bills maturing on November 14, 2019.