ECB monetary operations

On May 30, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced the seven-day main refinancing operation (MRO). The operation was conducted on May 31 and attracted bids from euro area eligible counterparties of €410 million, €251 million less than 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.

Also on May 31, the ECB conducted the eight-day US dollar funding operation through collateralised lending in conjunction with the US Federal Reserve. This operation attracted bids of $182.50 million, which was allotted in full at a fixed rate of 1.08 per cent.

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 June 2, maturing on September 1 and December 1, respectively.

Bids of €35 million and €15 million were submitted for the 91-day and 182-day bills, respectively, with the Treasury accepting all submitted bids.

Since €36 million worth of bills matured during the week, the outstanding balance of Treasury bills increased by €14 million, standing at €869.10 million.

The yield from the 91-day bill auction was -0.182 per cent, increasing by 5.1 basis points from bids with a similar tenor issued on May 26, representing a bid price of €100.0460 per €100 nominal. The yield from the 182-day bill auction was -0.116 per cent, increasing by 2.2 basis points from bids with a similar tenor also issued on May 26, representing a bid price of €100.0587 per €100 nominal.

During this week, there was no trading on the Malta Stock Exchange.

Yesterday, June 6, the Treasury invited tenders for 90-day and 364-day bills maturing on September 7, 2022, and June 8, 2023, respectively.

This report was prepared by the Monetary Operations and Collateral Management Office of the Central Bank of Malta.