ECB monetary operations
On August 10, the European Central Bank announced a seven-day Main Refinancing Operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on August 11 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €1 billion, €0.05 billion more than the bid amount of the previous week. The amount was allotted in full at a fixed rate equivalent to the prevailing MRO rate of zero per cent, in accordance with current ECB policy.
On August 12, the ECB conducted an 84-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation was carried out at a fixed rate of 0.32 per cent and did not attract bids from euro area eligible counterparties.
During the week under review, the ECB conducted three seven-day US dollar funding operations through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. These operations attracted total bids of $0.03 billion, at the rate of 0.34 per cent.
Domestic treasury bill market
In the domestic primary market for Treasury bills, the Treasury invited tenders for 91-day bills and 273-day bills for settlement value August 13, maturing on November 12, 2020 and May 13, 2021, respectively. Bids of €100 million were submitted for the 91-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €15 million, while bids of €115 million were submitted for the 273-day bills, with the Treasury accepting €10 million. Since €45 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills decreased by €20 million, standing at €812 million.
The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.484 per cent, a decrease of 0.4 basis point from bids with a similar tenor issued on August 6, representing a bid price of €100.1225 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 273-day bill auction was -0.461 per cent, a decrease of 0.6 basis point from bids with a similar tenor also issued on July 16, representing a bid price of €100.3508 per €100 nominal.
During the week under review, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.
Today, the Treasury will invite tenders for 91-day bills and 182-day bills maturing on November 19, 2020 and February 18, 2021, respectively.