ECB monetary operations
On January 6, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day Main Refinancing Operation (MRO).
The operation was conducted on January 7 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €9,984 million, €6,995 million less 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.
On January 8, 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 $97.70 million, which were allotted in full at a fixed rate of 4.58%.
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 January 9, maturing on April 10, and July 10, respectively.
Bids of €88.58 million were submitted for the91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €43.52 million, while bids of €28.57 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €8.52 million. Since €18.20 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €33.84 million, standing at €742.39 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 3.022%, decreasing by 5.30 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on January 2, representing a bid price of €99.2419 per €100 nominal.
The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 2.638%, increasing by 2.00 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on January 2, representing a bid price of €98.6839 per €100 nominal.
During the week, secondary market turnover in Malta Government Treasury bills amounted to €20,000, all executed on the on-exchange market of the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day and 182-day bills maturing on April 17 and July 17, respectively.
The report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.