ECB monetary operations
On December 29, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the seven-day main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on January 2 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €7,374.50 million, €6,710 million less than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 4.50%, in accordance with current ECB policy.
On January 3, 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 $222.50 million, which were allotted in full at a fixed rate of 5.58%.
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 4, maturing on April 4 and July 4, respectively.
Bids of €53.06 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €13.06 million, while bids of €5.73 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting all amounts. Since €33.19 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €14.40 million, standing at €657.23 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 3.597%, increasing by 1.50 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on December 29, representing a bid price of €99.0990 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 3.449%, increasing by 0.60 basis point from bids with a similar tenor also issued on December 29, representing a bid price of €98.2862 per €100 nominal.
During this week, secondary market turnover in Malta Government Treasury bills amounted to €100,000, 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 11 and July 11, 2024, respectively.
This article is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.