ECB monetary operations
On October 7, the European Central Bank announced the seven-day main refinancing operations (MRO). The operation was conducted on October 8 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €6,840.00 million, €1,306.00 million less than the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of 3.65%, in accordance with current ECB policy.
On October 9, 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 $153.50 million, which were allotted in full at a fixed rate of 5.08%.
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 October 10, maturing on January 9, and April 10, 2025, respectively. Bids of €46.07 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €15.22 million, while bids of €3.85 million were submitted for the 182-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €3.69 million.
Since €15.10 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €3.81 million, standing at €362.14 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was 2.762%, increasing by 1.60 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on October 3, 2024, representing a bid price of €99.3067 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was 2.513%, decreasing by 2.10 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on October 3, representing a bid price of €98.7455 per €100 nominal.
During this week, secondary market turnover in Malta Government Treasury bills amounted to €307,000, 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 January 16, and April 17, 2025, respectively.
The report is prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.