ECB monetary operations

On December 30, the European Central Bank announced a six-day main refinancing operations (MRO).

The operation was conducted on December 31 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1.47 billion, €6.44 billion less 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.

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills for settlement value January 2, maturing on April 2.

Bids of €55 million were submitted, with the Treasury accepting €26 million. Since €19 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €7 million, standing at €307 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.433 per cent, a decrease of 0.3 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 27, 2019, representing a bid price of €100.1096 per €100 nominal.

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

Yesterday, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills and 182-day bills maturing on April 9 and July 9 respectively.