ECB monetary operations
On December 16, the European Central Bank announced the five-day main refinancing operation (MRO).
The operation was conducted on December 17 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €7,952 million, €3,080 million more than the previous week.
The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 3.15%, in accordance with current ECB policy.
Also on December 17, the ECB conducted the 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 €11,026.50 million from euro area eligible counterparties.
On December 18, the ECB conducted a 21-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $1,119.70 million, which were allotted in full at a fixed rate of 4.59%.
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 December 19, maturing on March 20 and June 19, 2025, respectively.
Bids of €88.95 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €73.95 million, while bids of €30.36 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting all of them. Since €27.32 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €76.99 million, standing at €684.56 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 2.993%, increasing by 3.30 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 12, representing a bid price of €99.2491 per €100 nominal.
The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 2.656%, increasing by 0.50 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on December 12, representing a bid price of €98.6750 per €100 nominal.
During the week, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Yesterday, December 23, the Treasury invited tenders for 90-day and 181-day bills maturing on March 27 and June 26, 2025, respectively.
The report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.