ECB monetary operations
On January 20, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on January 21 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €9,095.70 million, €1,056.70 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.
On January 22, 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 $74.60 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 23, maturing on April 24 and July 24, respectively.
Bids of €115.20 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €18.67 million, while bids of €34.07 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €8.76 million. Since €32.20 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €4.78 million, standing at €754.17 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 2.886%, decreasing by eight basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on January 16, representing a bid price of €99.2758 per €100 nominal.
The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 2.607%, decreasing by 2.60 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on January 16, representing a bid price of €98.6992 per €100 nominal.
During the week, secondary market turnover in Malta Government Treasury bills amounted to €2.01 million, all executed on the on-exchange market of the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, January 28, the Treasury will invite tenders for 90-day and 182-day bills maturing on April 30 and July 31, respectively.
The report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.