ECB monetary operations

On December 20, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day Main Refinancing Operation. The operation was conducted on December 23 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €8,880 million, €928 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. 

Domestic Treasury bill market

In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 90-day and 181-day bills for settlement value December 27, maturing on March 27 and June 26, 2025, respectively. 

Bids of €51 million were submitted for the 90-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €46 million, while bids of €2.41 million were submitted for the 181-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €2.11 million.

Since €37.86 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €10.25 million, standing at €694.80 million.

The yield from the 90-day bill auction was 3.012%, increasing by 1.90 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 19, representing a bid price of €99.2526 per €100 nominal.

The yield from the 181-day bill auction was 2.602%, decreasing by 5.40 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on December 19, representing a bid price of €98.7087 per €100 nominal.

During the week, secondary market turnover in Malta Government Treasury bills amounted to €13,000, all executed on the On-exchange market of the Malta Stock Exchange.

Yesterday, December 30, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on April 3 and July 3, 2025, respectively. 

The report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta