ECB monetary operations

On September 2, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced its weekly main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on September 3, and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €2.35 billion, €1 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.

On September 4, 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 and 182-day bills for settlement value September 5, maturing on December 5 and March 5, 2020, respectively.

Bids of €40 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €10 million, while bids of €30 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €2 million. Since €12 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills remained unchanged at €294.30 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.375 per cent, an increase of 0.3 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on August 29, representing a bid price of €100.0949 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was also -0.375 per cent, a decrease of 2.9 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on July 11, representing a bid price of €100.1899 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 December 12.